Topeka High turns athletic director into boys basketball coach

TOPEKA (KSNT) - Topeka High School's Ty Baumgardner is happy to be back on the court.

Baumgardner coached in multiple states for 25 years before taking a one-year break to be the Trojans' athletic director. He'll now double-dip as both athletic director and boys basketball coach.

"Coaching’s all I’ve ever done," Baumgardner said. "This was the first year I wasn’t a high school head coach. I missed it, which I thought I would, especially during the season."

When the coaching position opened up, he figured it wouldn't hurt to try. He attended almost every boys basketball game this past season, so he is familiar with the program.

Baumgardner never thought about giving up the athletic director position. It's common for a high school athletic director to coach at the same time, but it's uncommon for them to coach basketball.

"Athletics is a great vessel to teach kids about life and things that you have to do: being accountable, being on-time, being responsible. Your actions represent more than just you," he said.

Baumgardner said it will be interesting to see how he balances both jobs, but he's up for the task.