Jennifer Nebor is the coach of both the Waubonsie Valley girls bowling team and badminton team. We see how that’s possible in this feature, presented by Edward Medical Group.
Earlier this year, the IHSA announced that girls badminton would be moving from a spring sport over to the winter for the 2021 season. The switch was COVID related, freeing up gym space in the spring for girls and boys volleyball seasons, plus at the time of the decision, there was no plan in place for the return of basketball.
While the switch from spring to winter was helpful to athletic directors, it caused a bit of a pickle for Waubonsie Valley and second year badminton head coach Jennifer Nebor. You see, Coach Nebor is also the head coach of another winter sport at Waubonsie, girls bowling. Which means that suddenly she was the head coach for two sports playing at the same time. But despite the potential hurdles, the WV coach embraced the news.
Uncharted Territory
It’s fairly common in our area to see head coaches for multiple sports throughout the year. Dan Iverson at Naperville North coaches girls cross country and girls track, Andy Nussbaum at Naperville Central coaches girls basketball and softball, Andy McWhirter at Naperville North even coaches three sports with girls swimming, boys swimming and girls water polo. But we’ve never seen a head coach with two sports playing in the same season.
Despite the obvious challenges one can imagine trying to juggle practices and games for two different teams, Coach Nebor has been able to balance the schedules for both teams with relative ease.
Although her focus is split between badminton and girls bowling, Coach Nebor’s players have high praise for the way their leader has handled the season thus far.
Seniors Lead the Way
A senior heavy roster led by All-State badminton player Sonali Manoharan helps make the transition from freshman coach to varsity head coach much easier.
Although Coach Nebor has made everything look effortless over the past month, one can’t blame her for hoping that that badminton’s time as a winter sport is only temporary. For Naperville Sports Weekly, I’m Justin Cornwell.
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