The past four seasons have been tough for Antietam girls basketball. A new head coach has arrived and is excited to mount a turnaround in Stony Creek.
Jamie Harle, an Exeter grad who lives in the Gov. Mifflin School District, was approved as the Mounts new head coach this fall.
Harle takes over for Tim Rivera, who went 2-41 in two seasons as the Mounts head coach. Rivera previously took over for Greg Swavely, who went 23-37 in three seasons.
"I think it’s great that there’s room to grow (in Antietam's girls basketball program)," Harle said. "I’m willing to say that and I have to grow too. It’s going to be exciting to watch us grow through this together."
The first hardship occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic when Antietam canceled the girls basketball season. The next two seasons the Mounts went 2-37 overall.
A few months following the 2022-23 season, a July flood of the Antietam Creek severely damaged the school and gymnasium. Last season, the Mounts went 1-21.
Harle played basketball in high school at Exeter and feels she can bring some of the lessons learned during that time to the Mounts.
"You're gonna miss a shot," she said. "It's okay. You know, just shoot that ball. I want to build them back up and give them confidence."
Harle coached Northwest Middle School girls basketball in 2018 before COVID, took a year off, and then coached Oley Valley middle schoolers from 2021-2022. Harle, who works full-time in special education, then started a new job and only had time to volunteer in youth leagues. Once her nights freed up, she jumped back in.
"I looked around and saw the Boyertown and Antietam girls basketball head coach jobs were open," Harle said. "I was like, (the Antietam job) is it and it fell into place."
Karl Rinkevich, whose daughter Marlee is a returning player, joined Harle's staff as an assistant. The coaching staff plans to get back to fundamentals, build competitiveness, and ultimately make basketball what it's supposed to be: fun.
Rinkevich, along with all-division honorable mention pick Airyana Jones and Alyzah Reyes, give Harle a returning core to work with.
"I'm looking forward to turning a new leaf and get the attitudes right and see the smiles back," Harle said. "It's okay to make a mistake out here. I just want to build on every success whether it be working on rebounding or better passing. It's fundamental but those are going to be the things that we celebrate to build a good team."
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