Leading the Gananda Blue Panthers to victory with a score of 57-43 over Williamson on Friday, January 17, Coach Jeff Thomson ultimately secured his 300th career win as the Boys Varsity Basketball Coach for Gananda Central School District.

Coach Thomson began his varsity basketball coaching career with Gananda in the 1993-1994 season. Over the past 26 years, he has led the Blue Panthers to Sectionals a total of six times, and secured a Section V Class CC Title with a win over Bloomfield in 2007. That same year Thompson was named the Class CC Coach of the Year.

While winning games is the goal, it is the preparation before a game that Thomson finds the most exciting about coaching basketball. “It’s all about the strategies and the game changes. Preparing and trying to win the next game on the schedule is the most exciting,” explains  Thomson.

While preparation makes coaching exciting, Thomson finds the most enjoyment comes from interacting with the student-athletes. “The relationships with players, coaches, parents, and families is what I remember the most.”

When asked if he was striving to achieve this milestone, Coach Thomson humbly responded, “300 wins happens when you have coached for many years. There have been many outstanding assistant/junior varsity coaches that are a huge reason for the wins over the years. Without their hard work and dedication to the Gananda Basketball program, we would not be where we are at this time.”

The current record for the Gananda Boys Basketball Team is 9-3.