Girls Basketball: Yorkville Christian tabs TJ Hodges to run first-year program

YORKVILLE – TJ Hodges had a distinct style when he played basketball in high school.

He was the feisty point guard. The floor general, always willing to take charges.

Now Hodges wants to instill that in his players.

"I've never had a team before," Hodges said. "I'm thinking I can help mold them into the way I know is winning basketball."

Hodges will get the chance now. Hodges, a Yorkville resident and a college assistant for five years with over 20 years of basketball training experience, has been hired as the head coach for Yorkville Christian's new girls basketball program.

The Mustangs have 10 girls on the team, with a schedule of 14 or so games already in place.

"I'm really looking forward to watching the girls for the first time ever in a Yorkville Christian uniform, and representing the school and the community," Hodges said. "It's pretty exciting."

Hodges played basketball in high school at downstate Effingham High School, then ran track and cross country at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He cut his coaching teeth as the assistant coach and head recruiter for the Parkland College women's basketball program in Champaign, where he spent five seasons.

During that time Hodges did camps with former Illinois men's basketball coach Bill Self, former Illinois women's basketball coach Theresa Grentz, Chicago Bulls camps and Western Illinois camps. After that he started his own training and basketball sessions with potential college athletes, getting assistance from the likes of Dee Brown, Sergio McClain, Brian Cook and Kendall Gill.

"I was training kids from third grade up until college doing specialized training," Hodges said.

Hodges met his wife while at Parkland, and eventually they moved to the western suburbs when she took a job in Naperville. Hodges' oldest of three children, an 11-year-old daughter, plays for the Peak Elite club program out of Plainfield. Hodges, who coaches with the program, was calling Yorkville Christian to talk about getting court time at the school when he said Assistant Principal Eric Long pitched him on the girls basketball job.

"He asked me questions without me knowing that he was interviewing me already," Hodges said. "He liked what I was saying about how I coach, what I expect out of the girls. I have a good firm grip on the girls basketball scene."

Hodges said he started a travel program out of Plano last year, which gave him a good start to know the basketball players out of the Plano area. He's also done a lot of training with players from Yorkville and Oswego.

"Yorkville Christian has so much potential in their athletic department, especially with their girls basketball program, because they've never had a team before," Hodge said.

When Hodges walked into the gym Tuesday, he saw plenty of room for growth with a raw group. But he thinks the sky is the limit. Of Yorkville Christian's 10 players, four are sophomores and five are freshmen.

"I said this could be a Disney movie, coach comes into a first-year program, kids are shooting the ball over the backboard and we turn it into something," Hodges said. "Given the support from the athletic department I really feel we can build a state championship contender."

Yorkville Christian's first game is scheduled for Dec. 19 at Putnam County, which is eerily ironic to Hodges. The date is his late mother's birthday, and Putnam County is in her home town.

"First game as a coach, that would be very special to me," Hodges said.

He looks forward to more special things.

"I'm looking for hard-working team players in the area that want a small-class environment with a coach that will run through a brick wall for them," Hodges said. "We're going to try to build something special here."