Heinerichs Officially Becomes Haverford's New Coach

It was a tough decision to leave a good, stable, winning situation—all things he created—to move over and take the head boys’ basketball coaching position at . But Keith Heinerichs feels confident the same things he built at Ridley he can construct as the new head coach of the Fords starting next season.

Heinerichs was officially by the Haverford School Board. In 11 years at Ridley High School, he won three Central League titles, reached the District 1 Class AAAA playoffs in 10 of his 11 years, going as far as the district semifinals and state quarterfinals.

Heinerichs will be joined on his staff by close friend Joe Roe, who was highly successful at Archbishop Carroll, and who, along with Heinerichs, lives in the Havertown community. In fact, Heinerichs is within a five-minute walk from the high school. It was one of the more alluring features why Heinerichs decided to apply for the opening, after Haverford School District on April 1.

“I’m not worried about any of the other stuff that happened, and I really respect Terry McNichol and the job he did here,” Heinerichs told the Haverford-Havertown Patch, who will continue teaching social studies at Ridley High School. “A big reason why I took this job is because it is much closer to home, and I wanted my family to be a part of my basketball life. I’m right here now. I can do things in the summer and the fall and it allows me to be closer to my family, and I have friends who live in this community. It’s the right fit at the right time. I have a seven-year-old girl, five-year-old boy and two-year-old girl and I want to watch them grow up and be part of their lives. That’s the most important thing.”

During the season, Heinerichs would regularly get home around 8:30 or 9 p.m. during practice days and very late in the evening on game days. That cut into daddy time and being able to sit down and have dinner with his young family. All those little things, Heinerichs said, added into why he made the decision.

“When this opportunity surfaced, I looked at it for a while,” Heinerichs said. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do until I talked to the Haverford School District in mid-May. I didn’t ask about job security and every year at Ridley, I never asked about that, either. Being closer to my family was a big part of this, plus there has to be something said about coaching in the community. My son is getting older and this is a situation that I can be there for him and be there for younger kids in the community.

“I’m excited to coach with my friend John Roe, but one of the toughest parts of leaving Ridley is leaving someone like Mike Snyder, another close friend, who will hopefully be the next head coach at Ridley. I got some feedback from people I know telling me they saw a strain on me last year, knowing I couldn’t be at certain things for my kids. Plus, this could give me more longevity in my coaching career. It’s certainly a new challenge, and I think a new challenge will be good for me. I plan on winning here. We don’t plan on losing, that’s for sure. It’s the way I am with everything, checkers, pick-up basketball, it doesn’t matter.”

Heinerichs has some talent back in a core nucleus of juniors Pierre Charles, Patrick Morgan and Kevin Gladstone. But Heinerichs also knows some damage control will need to be addressed. This group of returning players took more than their share of criticism, some in the community even blaming them for McNichol’s dismissal, such as those in the of Patch's articles on McNichol, and confidence needs to be restored.

“My plan is to let these kids know the only concerns they should have are the things that they can control, that’s a life lesson,” Heinerichs said. “What I can control is what we’re going to work on, and that’s unselfish, hard-playing basketball. I don’t know the kids well enough yet, but I do know I had great relationships with the kids at Ridley. Coach Roe and I have to work with the kids and get to know them better, what they can do. It’s not about winning and losing, but working as hard as you can to be successful. I know from watching Haverford that these kids do play hard.”

Heinerichs just has one more hurdle to climb, and it will come sometime in December or January, and that’s when the Fords play his former team, Ridley.

“That will be a really tough night,” Heinerichs predicted. “That was the most difficult decision in telling the Ridley kids what was happening. They deserved to know everything during the interview process. I said goodbye to the Ridley kids, though I still talk to them. All those kids know that if they need something, I’m there for them. Like I will be for the Haverford kids. But I’ve always told my players to go with priorities in life. It’s why I’m excited about being in my community
and coaching, I’m excited knowing my kids can come to practice.”