Jahn brings fun, success to close-knit AFC girls basketball program

Chris Jahn is a person who can take a joke. That’s a good thing, because the Ashton-Franklin Center girls basketball coach often finds himself on the receiving end of some zingers from his players.

Take, for instance, the clothes that he wears. The Raiders let him have it when the situation, in their eyes, calls for it.

“He’s got a really interesting taste in ties,” freshman center Jaynee Prestegaard said. “He’s got a McDonald’s one, and he’s got one that looks like cockroaches crawling up the wall. I bug him about that all the time.”

“He used to wear yellow pants when he was coaching,” junior guard Laci Meurer added. “We made fun of him for that.”

For Jahn, such needling is easy to take when it comes from a group of players he considers his extended family. There is his wife of 20 years, Lisa, and two children, Calvin, 14, and Taylor, 10. And then there is a group of 13 girls that he spends an inordinate amount of time with for 4 months.

“To me, it’s a family at home,” Jahn said, “and now these girls are just a part of what we do. It’s great.”

It’s the same way for the players.

“His entire family doesn’t have anyone playing,” sophomore center Madeline Prestegaard said, “and they all show up every single game. They’re so loyal to us. They’re family, too. Everybody’s family.”

The Raiders were one big happy family in the 2015-16 season. They finished 25-2 overall, including a 13-0 run through the NUIC East, and won the program’s first-ever regional crown.

That’s why Jahn has been named the 2016 SVM Coach of the Year in girls basketball.

Jahn, 45, didn’t set out to be a coach. Seven years ago, he was approached by then-AFC athletic director Ric Cupp about coaching at the junior high level. Jahn agreed, and coached the AFC sixth grade girls, then the sixth grade boys, and a year later, the eighth grade girls.

Four years ago, he moved up to the varsity, and the program has been on an uptick ever since. After an 11-16 mark in 2012-13, the Raiders went 14-12 the next season, then rolled to a 23-4 mark in the 2014-15 season. Seven seniors graduated from that squad, however, leaving Jahn unsure about what to expect this season.

“I was excited about it,” Jahn said, “but I was a little bit cautious just because they were so young.”

Jahn’s fears were soon allayed with the emergence of Jaynee Prestegaard as a freshman force. She averaged 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, making teams that ganged up on her older sister Madeline pay.

“I watched [Jaynee] play in 8th grade and I thought, ‘Wow, she’s pretty good,’” Jahn said. “I knew she’d be a part of the varsity team, but she’s blown us away by how good she’s been.”

In preseason running drills, Jaynee was the only Raider to be able to keep up with fleet-footed senior guard Cassidy Koning. There was an instant respect between the two players, and Koning became the glue that brought the team together, according to Jahn.

“I could tell there was a bond there right away,” Jahn said, “and it’s because Jaynee was such a good athlete. Cassidy’s been a real important part of that meshing, freshmen through senior.”

The Raiders meshed together well enough to lose only twice all season. They fell to Indian Creek in the finals of the Amboy Christmas Tournament, and then to Annawan, in overtime, in a Class 1A Serena Sectional semifinal.

For Jahn, many, many hands were involved in the team’s success. Coaching-wise, he credits everything to his uncle, Jeff Jahn, an assistant coach for the Raiders. Chris describes Jeff as an “awesome assistant with 40 years worth of basketball in his head that will come out when I need it to.”

Jeff Jahn is also a renowned shooting coach who has helped many a Raider.

“We have four out of five starting girls shooting boy jump shots that are just beautiful,” Chris Jahn said. “I watch these teams that we play, and teams down at state, and there’s not very many people than can shoot a jump shot. [Jeff’s] got them shooting jumpers, and we’re better because of it.”

Then there is Jahn’s wife, Lisa. Before Chris took the varsity job 4 years ago, he consulted with his wife and children, to make sure they understood the kind of year-round commitment they were making.

Lisa Jahn is heavily involved with the team. She compiles statistics, provides team meals, monitored the team Facebook page, and organized team dance parties before and after the regional – to loosen up the girls for the pressure-packed postseason. She also organized the postseason team banquet, and she’s at every game – loud and proud behind the AFC bench.

“She loves those girls like they’re her daughters,” coach Jahn said, “and when Madeline’s getting pushed in the middle, she can’t stand it. That’s what it is – a passion for the game. When we lose, it hurts her longer than it hurts me. Four days after we lost that sectional game, she was, ‘I just feel like I could throw up.’ It’s just passion.”

Taylor Jahn, a fourth grader, does everything with the team but suit up for games. She goes through practice with the team, and even has a practice jersey with her name on it.

“Those are her big sisters,” Chris Jahn said, “and she won’t miss anything they do. When [Taylor] doesn’t come for some reason, the first thing they say is, ‘Coach, where’s Taylor at tonight?’”

“She comes right after school, puts on her practice clothes and does the whole practice with us,” junior guard Lexi Meurer said. “She’ll beat us in all of our sprints – that’s kind of pathetic, when you think about it. We’re all like, ‘Wow, she’s going to be a baller when she gets to high school, because she’s kicking our butts in sprints.’ We’re really trying, too.”

There is also support from outside the basketball family. Jahn can’t stop for gas at the local convenience store without the Raiders coming up in a conversation. The same loyal fans attend games, and the program has the backing of the school’s administration.

Jahn also has support from his workplace. He is an air traffic controller at the Chicago Center in Aurora, and co-workers are always willing to trade shifts so he can tend to his coaching duties.

“I’ve got 20 years of experience,” Jahn said, “and I’ve got like a 4-year-guy experience schedule. I take a crappy schedule, because it works for basketball. I never take weekends off, and everybody below me in seniority loves that.”

It all adds up to an experience that Jahn wouldn’t trade for anything – even when some of his players, for instance, give him some grief about something as mundane as the tie around his neck.

“It’s knowing those girls,” Jahn said. “When they are high from a win, it is a great feeling. They really are like our kids, and we are thrilled. When they get beat and they’re crushed, we’re crushed. It’s that camaraderie with those kids that I had no idea was going to be so strong. I love the basketball, but that’s secondary to what we’re doing here.”

As for the future, Jahn will soon meet with his players to outline what they need to be doing in the summer to improve. With only Koning to replace from the main core of players, the Raiders figure to be stacked once again next winter.

The ultimate goal is to make it to the state tournament in Normal.

“We want to go farther than we did this year,” sophomore guard Emily Shrimplin said. “We need to get better as individuals, and then we’ll get better as a team.”

Jahn file

High school: Franklin Center, 1988

College: SIU-Carbondale, 1994

Resides: Franklin Grove

Family: Wife, Lisa; children, Calvin, 14, and Taylor, 10

FYI: Fourth-year head coach of AFC girls basketball team. … Guided Raiders to 25-2 record, NUIC East title, and first-ever regional championship in 2015-16 season. … Works as air traffic controller at the Chicago Center in Aurora. … Avid fisherman, and will be the coach of first-ever bass fishing team at AFC this spring.