Jon Hill named new Niwot girls basketball head coach

The Jon Hill era is set to begin for the Niwot girls basketball team with the program finding its new head coach.

Niwot Athletic Director Joe Brown announced the move on May 5 following the retirement of longtime head coach and Colorado High School Athletics Association Hall of Famer, Terri Ward.

Although Ward has stepped away from coaching, she will remain around the program in a mentorship role. Hill said he looks forward to bringing a fresh energy to the program while having Ward's wisdom available.

Hill's coaching career began in 2012 and includes three stints as an assistant boys basketball coach at The Academy in Westminster and two seasons at Prospect Ridge Academy in Broomfield. The versatile Hill came to Niwot in 2020 as an assistant football coach.

From 2012 to 2014, he attended Metropolitan State College in Denver before transferring to Mount Marty College in South Dakota to become a student assistant for its NAIA men's basketball team. He said his experience there helped him learn what it takes to compete at the next level.

After one season at Mount Marty, he returned to Metro to complete his business degree and resume coaching at The Academy.

Through his experience coaching basketball at the college level, Hill said he gained a new perspective on coaching. The ability to form strong relationships and make a genuine impact on players was often lost in college and was something he enjoyed at the younger levels. A few years later and with the chance to lead a high school program, he highlighted the desire to make a difference in his players' lives on and off the court.

Hill will have a hill to climb after the Niwot girls posted an 0-14 record in the 2021 campaign. In a COVID-19 impacted season, the Cougars struggled to recruit players and had just three seniors on the roster.

"We're definitely starting at ground zero," Hill said. "We've got nowhere to go but up."

He added that his first season will constitute laying the groundwork for a winning program.

"My big thing for this upcoming year is to have the girls fall in love with the process of just improving day over day," Hill said. "I'm a big believer if we can get 1% better each day, then we'll get where we want to go."