It is common for BHS student athletes to play multiple sports. However, it is less common for a coach to coach multiple sports. Ross Jatkola is the head coach for both Varsity Football and Girls Varsity Basketball.
Jatkola was already hired as the football coach when the girls basketball coaching job was posted online last spring and he decided to take it. As he prepares for three months of basketball, he reflected on his first football season, saying that it went very well, but they could’ve done better and they will come back stronger next year.
Transitioning from coaching boys in football to coaching girls in basketball, Jatkola said he will have to adjust his style since the sports are different, but he tries not to treat the girls differently, as he expects the same hard work and effort from everyone he coaches.
Junior Dorian Funk said, “He uses some football terms and all of us are like ‘what the heck are you talking about,’ but he really knows the game.”
Considering his experience with basketball, Jatkola is no stranger to coaching it because he coached the girls teams at DY, Monomoy, and Cheshire Academy in Connecticut, and he used to play for DY in high school.
After meeting with the girls in the spring, having conditioning sessions in the summer, and seeing them in tryouts, Jatkola is excited for the season and said, “It was a good, positive start. The girls were awesome, and there is just some stuff we have to prepare for, but they all had great attitudes.”
In practices, their preparation is “more intense” than last year according to Funk. “He yells at us, but it’s encouraging and he wants us to succeed. It hypes the team up.”
His expectations for the basketball season is that the girls will “work hard, be a disciplined team, and be competitive with everyone in the league.”
Funk echoes those expectations when she said, “I think the season will be fun and go well. We just need to focus on playing together, keep the energy up, always play intense even if we’re losing.”
After meeting with the girls in the spring, having conditioning sessions in the summer, and seeing them in tryouts, Jatkola is excited for the season and said, “It was a good, positive start. The girls were awesome, and there is just some stuff we have to prepare for, but they all had great attitudes.”

He does wish they had more players in the program. Last year, they had three teams, but this year there were only enough girls for a JV and Varsity team, but not a Freshman team.