Pacanowski Named Beavers Basketball Head Coach

Mr. Jason Francis Pacanowski has been at Beaver Local for almost four years now. Jason teaches high school math, grades 9-12. He graduated from Youngstown State University. He has always been fascinated with math and the sport of basketball. Jason had spent the past 13 years helping coach, and teach college athletes at Southern Illinois University. Despite the basketball background, he says his true calling is the education profession and teaching Mathematics. Basketball is not the only sport he likes, coming from Chicago, Jason is a diehard Chicago Bears and Blackhawks fan.

Jason has an extremely positive mindset when it comes to coaching his new team this year. Being the assistant coach of the Beaver Local basketball team the previous season, he already has good connections with the upperclassmen. With all of the control, he has completely changed practices, scheduling, and the mindset of the team. He has done an incredible job turning the program around, from a (3-20) season last year, to a current (9-10) record. The Beavers roster has not had an impactful change, however they have been able to triple their wins from the previous season.

The start to the 2016-2017 didn’t go as anyone had planned. The team started 0-7, losing several close games by only 2 or 3 points. “I continued to tell my players to stick the course, and wins will eventually come”, Jason said. The Beavers had a huge turning point once they defeated Edison by three points at home. Since then, the Beavers have been on a roll with a (8-3) record. “The first win was the hardest. I knew the transition with a new coach and offense would be hard, but we have been able to get through it.” The Beavers have 4 returning seniors, two of which are three year letterman. “Our senior core is very strong” Pacanowski said. “They have been able to remain calm despite the rough start, and bounce back to bring the record almost up to even”.

The Beavers are in a much better spot with sectional playoffs right around the corner compared to last season. They are looking at a possible 9th to 12th seed, unlike last year, with a 17th seed. The Beavers will play state ranked University on February 14th, for the first round of the OVAC tournament. This shall prepare the team for their tournament run towards the end of February. The matchup is determined this Sunday, and will be playing in the Sectional Semifinals.