Crestwood Red Devils girls’ assistant basketball Coach Tom Henderson has learned that no matter how hard he tries, he is always pulled back into coaching high school athletics. In his second time coming out of retirement, the longtime coach was named the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Division IV-V Assistant Coach of the Year on March 28.
“I was stunned,” Henderson said. “I enjoy every year, obviously you have years that you enjoy more than others, but it is not always wins and losses, it is attitude, effort, willingness to learn. I have had some teams that have been very unsuccessful with their records and everything, but they were very hardworking kids.”
When Henderson first retired after decades of coaching cross country, basketball and track between Eastlake North and Kirtland in 2014, he said he believed his coaching days were behind him. The longtime Lake County coach received a second act when he came out of retirement to assist his son, T.J., when he was named as Aurora’s new boys’ basketball coach for the 2016-17 season.
He spent three years at his son’s side during his tenure with the Greenmen before leaving the program after the 2018-19 season.
It was the first time the Hendersons had coached together but they already had a lot of great experiences with high school sports when he served as T.J.’s junior varsity head coach during his freshman and sophomore years while playing for the Kirtland boys’ basketball program.
After a brief stint in retirement, Henderson said that he believed that was truly it for him. After T.J. became the Red Devil girls’ basketball coach, Henderson stayed close as he frequently attended practices and virtually every home game during T.J.’s first two years at helm.
Henderson still felt himself being pulled back into coaching as during some games, he said that he would offer T.J. some advice during timeouts. According to him, T.J. would often suggest that his father belonged on the bench with him.
“He just points to the bench and he was like ‘Well why don’t you come down here and join me,’ and a position opened up and he said ‘Now is your chance, I will find somebody if I have to, but you are my first choice,’ and my wife is looking at me, she is like ‘You do what you want,’ and I said I’ll do it,” Henderson recalled.
When Henderson once again joined T.J.’s coaching staff for the 2024-25 season, he not only handled duties as a varsity assistant coach but also varsity girls’ head coach Ashley Foulkes’ right hand as he played a crucial role in assisting her for practices and games.
“The young ones are very hard-working and I think that they look forward to the challenge,” Henderson said. “I always tell the kids, if someone can do something, why can’t you.”
In addition to once again becoming an essential right hand, Henderson said that he also helped provide insight to T.J. for coaching high school girls, as it was the first coaching job, he held in coaching high school girls’ athletics.
For a coach as experienced as Henderson, the last two years with Crestwood have been memorable, not just because of his most recent coaching award but also the fact that the Red Devil girls captured the Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division title outright and appeared in the OHSAA Division IV Northeast II Lordstown District Championship.
“The girls are an absolute joy to coach, most of them are very receptive to fundamental work, hard practices; it has been a joy,” Henderson said. “These past couple of years have been a lot of fun. A lot of it has been attributed to the young ladies.”
The Red Devils’ historic 2024-25 season has not only earned a place in the school record books but has also landed Henderson his first coaching award after almost 40 years of coaching high school athletics.
According to Henderson, what makes it all the more special is the fact that he has shared his last several years of coaching right by T.J’s side.
“It is a privilege to be able to spend that much time with your son in a professional situation not just coming to the house and seeing each other,” he added. “Usually, he is very receptive to all of the experiences that I have had but a lot of them are shared because he has coached.”
Henderson is slated to return to the bench next year. After a lengthy coaching tenure in Lake County, his second act is shaping up to be quite as memorable.
