Hudson's Vetter figuring it out as he goes

By JOEY KNIGHT, Times Staff Writer
Published December 13, 2007

HUDSON - He walked into his job interview at Hudson five summers ago with neither high school coaching nor playing experience, only a zeal quantified by the 30-page packet he carried under his arm.

In it, 26-year-old Jason Vetter had meticulously outlined the philosophies, rules and workout schedules he would employ if hired as Cobras boys basketball coach.

That packet got Vetter the job.

It's confetti now.

"To be honest, I've changed everything that was in it," Vetter said after practice Monday. "I had no idea when I came here what I was doing. I'll be the first to admit that."

Four-plus seasons, 95 losses and nearly one resignation into his second career, Vetter, 31, finally can chuckle over such an admission. To be sure, he has skidded more than once on his learning curve, burning some tread off his enthusiasm at times.

But his perseverance, at last, is providing a tangible payoff. Hudson, 11-91 under Vetter's watch entering the season, is 5-4 and a stratosphere removed from his initial Cobras teams, upon which area foes wiped their high-tops.

"Everything's just kind of come into place," said Vetter, a native of upstate New York whose coaching resume consisted of five middle school games before his arrival at Hudson.

"We've got a great administration, a great coaching staff, we're getting the offseason stuff going. ... It's a lot more fun now, our crowds are better and people in the school are excited about it."

With a victory tonight at home against Pasco, Hudson will match its highest single-season win total under Vetter. The Cobras have defeated River Ridge, Zephyrhills and Gulf, and handily beat Jesuit in a preseason classic.

Almost walked away

Three summers ago, Vetter had a 5-71 record to show for three seasons of toil and, amid parental unrest, told then-Hudson principal Angie Stone to start looking for his replacement.

"I think what Jason's kind of turned a corner on is breaking that stigma of losing, and it's something I ran into my first few years at Gulf," said Gulf coach Steve Feldman, whose club lost by 14 to the Cobras on Tuesday.

"I was one of the few guys when he got the job that would even take his calls and talk to him, let him bounce ideas off me. He needed somebody to talk to and I was always answering the phone."

Some are quick to note Hudson's resurgence has coincided with the evolution of 5-foot-11 junior guard Jarrod Branco (22.6 ppg), a Massachusetts-born gym rat whose father, David, is Hudson's JV coach. Questions abound as to whether the Cobras can sustain their current success once Branco graduates.

But other factors validate Vetter's job performance. Twelve kids - twice as many as Vetter has had on previous occasions - suited up for Monday's practice. Vetter said he returned all but one player from last year's 6-20 squad.

What's more, they keep playing hard for him, as evidenced by the 14 attempts to take charges Feldman said he charted while scouting a recent Hudson game.

"We had a couple of problems last year and the year before or whatever where teammates go back and forth with each other," Branco said. "But we're really close; we've been together for a while now. We just enjoy being around each other and we can play with each other."

Being around their coach has become far more bearable as well. Vetter acknowledges that while growing into the job, his volatility often was directly proportional to his team's futility.

He recalls a game against Land O'Lakes a couple years back when he suited only six players. Minutes in he had benched two, leaving the Gators with a 5-on-4 advantage. "Sadly, that was the best quarter we had in the game," he recalled with a laugh.

Credit maturity and marriage - Vetter was wed in July - for softening him to a degree.

"I'm probably a little more mellow now," he said. "I've just learned to deal with each kid in his own way. We're still strict. ...But I think I'm able to communicate with the kids better. I'm not dressing them down quite as much. If I do, I finish it with a positive."

It's a philosophy, perhaps, he'll jot down in his next packet.

"All of (Hudson's turnaround) is a credit eventually to Jason indeed getting his dominoes in order and saying, 'Look, I came in this job with eyes wide open,' " Feldman said. " 'I had a plan, but sometimes a plan has to go out the window when you see what life throws at you.' "

Fast facts

About Jason Vetter

- Though from Rochester, N.Y., he graduated from the University of Alabama

- Was an intern sports reporter at Newsday in New York

- Never played organized basketball beyond a Catholic youth organization

- His wife, Victoria, is a department head at Hudson Middle School

- While a correspondent for the Tampa Tribune, went on a tandem sky dive for a first-person story

[Last modified December 12, 2007, 21:34:55]