John Yonich, well known as a developer and Aberdeen businessman, says he is surprised to be at the helm of the Aberdeen’s girls basketball team and knows the announcement will catch others off guard as well.

He was approved as the new coach by the Aberdeen School Board Tuesday night. Yonich grew up in Aberdeen then left the area, but returned several years ago and has become a central figure in downtown development. He refurbished the D&R Theatre and was part of a failed effort to renovate the Morck Hotel. He also opened a restaurant, a coffee shop and an ice cream shop and has been interested in other downtown property.

Yonich said he was once heavily involved in the AAU basketball careers of both his daughters as a coach. He is making his high school head-coaching debut.

He succeeds Jeff Niemi who left to take over the boys program at Elma.

Former Lady Bobcats assistant Gienelle Harless was slated to take the head coaching position but recently stepped down as well.

Aberdeen’s newest coach has a lot on his plate but Yonich said he won’t let his business ventures distract him from the program.

“I’m looking forward to it because it’s a timeout I have to take. I get caught up and I have a lot going on so time management will be super important,” he said. “When I’m with those girls, that will be my focus. I won’t care about work.”

The Lady Bobcats will have a lot of work heading into the 2017-18 season. Aberdeen struggled in district play and ended up with a 1-9 record on a team that featured six seniors.

Yonich hasn’t had a chance to meet his team yet but said he has already felt a level of excitement since he was announced as the new leader of the Lady Bobcats.

“There were some girls who were on the fence or were not going to play and once they heard I was going to coach and heard about some of the people I’m going to bring in, now they’re going to play,” he said.

For Yonich, a big part of his program’s success will hinge on his ability to get girls in the school excited about the basketball program.

He said he would like to help remove some of the negative ideas that could keep players off he court.

“I have two daughters that are ladies but they can play basketball,” he said. “What stops a lot of these girls from playing is thinking that it’s too manly and I don’t see it that way.”

The Lady Bobcats don’t figure to bring a lot of size onto the court, with two of their taller players graduating. Aberdeen may have to be creative on both ends of the court to find more wins but Yonich said he wants the freshmen, junior varsity and varsity to be running similar game plans to create continuity within the program.

“I know they’ve been flat for a couple of years, so it might take a year or two, but I know how to build a program up,” he said. “You have to start at a lower level but at the lower level you should be running the stuff they’ll need to know at the higher levels.”

Yonich is not sure where exactly he’ll fall in the district standings but wants his team and fans to have fun when they hit the court.

“When we play at home I want it to feel like a home game, not just a couple of parents,” he said. “I want to be entertaining so we’ll entertain.”