Century boys basketball coach Vetter stepping down after five seasons

ROCHESTER — Raising a family, being a full-time teacher and taking on the endless responsibility of being a high school coach had gotten to be too much.

So, today, Jacob Vetter shed one of those three, stepping down as Rochester Century’s head boys basketball coach.

Vetter had been on the job for five years and had built Century into one of the top programs in the Big Nine Conference. The 37-year-old ends with a cumulative record of 75-52, with winning seasons all five years.

He also ends wishing he could still manage all three — family, job and coach. But as he and his wife are raising two young children, taking on the trifecta of dad/worker/coach had become too much.

“It was a tough decision,” Vetter said. “But as I was looking at our schedule and our kids, it was difficult to find that balance. I just can’t invest in coaching the way I want to and the way our (players) deserve. I just feel like the guys deserve better than that. I hope they can find someone who can invest that time and see if they can get this program to the next level.”

In his five years, Vetter made huge strides at Century. In the three seasons before he arrived, the Panthers had gone a combined 14-67.

Vetter attributes the improvement to the gradual rise in talent within the program, as well as the cohesion that existed within the basketball coaching staff, at all levels.

Vetter’s right-hand man had been Joe Ohm, Century’s junior varsity coach and his top assistant.

“Joe and I really balanced each other out,” Vetter said. “I thought it was a great combination us being together and bouncing ideas off of each other. Joe has done immense things for basketball in our community.”

Century is coming off a 16-11 season. The Panthers will be returning some excellent talent, including one of the top players in the conference, 6-foot-6 junior and deluxe athlete Shaun Wysocki.

Century also had dominant seasons at all levels this past year, including a junior varsity team that finished 19-5.

That made it all the tougher for Vetter to step down, knowing what could be ahead for this program. The Century basketball cupboard is seemingly stocked.

“Our program is in such a good spot right now,” Vetter said. “If you have the time to invest, you’d be crazy not to want to coach at Century. We have a great facility, I think the world of Mark (Century Activities Director Mark Kuisle), the administration and all the support they’ve given me the last five years. And with all of the kids we have coming back, all the way through the youth programs, Century is primed for success.”

Next season will be Vetter’s first not coaching high school basketball since he got married 12 years ago. He has spent time as a Century boys assistant, a head girls coach at Kingsland and the last five years as Century’s head boys coach.

The plan is to now be more present for his own kids, to coach them at the youth levels and to turn his high school coaching brain off for a while.

But this walking away won’t be easy.

“The interaction with the kids is what I’m going to miss most,” he said. “And I’m going to miss the competitiveness of games, talking to the other coaches in the conference and around the state, and all of the camaraderie that goes with being a coach. When you have players like we’ve had here, it’s hard to walk away from that. I’m going to miss it.”