LEWISTOWN — The Gingrich name is rooted deep in the history of basketball in Mifflin County and having coached more than 16 seasons at the varsity level, Aaron Gingrich is among the elite coaches in county history.
Gingrich began his career in 1994 at Lewistown High School as an assistant to legendary coach Kevin Kodish, where the Panthers won 118 games in four seasons, including a pair of PIAA state championships. Gingrich then became the longstanding coach of the Lewistown Panthers boys basketball team, coaching the Panthers to a record of 198-138.
He then went on to be the varsity coach for the boys basketball program at Mifflin County in its inaugural season in 2011, guiding the Huskies to a 17-8 record, a record that still stands today. Gingrich stepped away from the court in 2014 as the winningest boys basketball coach in county history, but the passion for coaching the sport never went away.
When Roger Herto retired from coaching in May, Gingrich jumped at the opportunity to become the third coach in the history of the Mifflin County girls basketball program. The move marks Gingrich’s return to the varsity bench after a seven-year hiatus.
“Having started my (coaching) career in 1994, I guess that I’m one of those old, experienced guys now too,” Gingrich said. “When Roger Herto announced his retirement, it was the logical step to apply for the position to continue the development of our current girls basketball players and to push them to improve upon their previous successes and hopefully take them to the next level.”
Shortly after he left the Huskies boys basketball program, Gingrich transitioned into coaching at the youth level, coaching his two daughters, Marissa and Maelyn. Gingrich eventually took over the Mifflin County junior high girls basketball program in 2017, where he guided the Huskies to a record of 109-29 in four seasons.
“When I stepped away in 2014, it was not that I didn’t still have a passion for basketball, but it was more of a decision to spend time with my family, which included two young daughters who were in second grade and kindergarten,” Gingrich said. “When I stepped away, I didn’t stop coaching, I just jokingly say that I changed genders and ages. I started coaching Marissa and ironically as it turns out, most of, if not all the current players in our program, or the recently graduated players. That decision was to spend more time with my family, but I never stopped coaching. I just switched over to the girls youth and elementary programs and put an emphasis on that.”
It’s that experience coaching the Huskies’ roster at the junior high level, combined with almost two decades of experience that Gingrich believes will help the Huskies program that is fresh off a District 6 Class 6A championship game appearance to the next level.
“I’ve coached every player in the program from rising seniors all the way down to rising seventh graders,” Gingrich said. “I can tell you their strengths and weaknesses and I know what we need to do to work on those weaknesses and emphasize the strengths. We also want them to develop into their roles going forward. I was grateful for the opportunity to start with the junior high and I think that only adds to my relationship with them as a coach.”
Having the opportunity to coach his daughters at the varsity level was an added perk of the job as well. Marissa Gingrich earned First-Team Mid-Penn honors as a sophomore in 2021, averaging a team-high 15 points per game with 67 assists and 38 3-pointers in 18 games.
“Any coach is blessed is to have the opportunity to coach their children. Coach (Kevin) Kodish and Coach (Roger) Herto had those opportunities, and now I’m blessed to do that with Marissa and Maelyn, but that wasn’t the sole reason,” Gingrich said. “As I like to say, I’ve coached everyone else’s kids from when I started in 1994 with the Lewistown girls. It is obviously an added perk. Maybe Marissa and Maelyn might regret that at some point as coaches are always harder on their own kids, but myself, my assistant coaches and my family have always given our time to all of the kids because we enjoy doing what’s in their best interest.”
Gingrich did not set any tangible goals, but his approach going forward is simple.
“Our goal, as always, is to win. That’s not to make any predictions, but myself, and all of the coaches — and hopefully the players — feel that if they put in the work and the dedication with attention to details, that the results will take care of themselves,” Gingrich said. “I know it’s very cliched and many coaches have said it, but if you pay attention to the little things, the big things take care of themselves. I want these girls to embrace the journey and the process of getting better each day in practice and let that carry over into the games. They have experienced success, and we want to improve upon that and hopefully take the program even higher. If they do those things, hopefully they will become better basketball players, better student athletes and better women on and off the court.”
Overall, Gingrich is just excited for the chance to be back coaching at the varsity level.
“It’s a blessing and an opportunity to get to coach all of these girls and I’m grateful for the school district for the opportunity to continue success for our program.”
