Darius Schaeffer was introduced as the 13th girls basketball coach at Warren High School during a press conference Tuesday in Vincent. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

VINCENT — Allison Cade’s question from the audience brought a smile to Darius Schaeffer during Tuesday’s press conference introducing him as the 13th head coach in the history of Warren High School girls basketball.

As it turns out, Schaeffer was full of smiles as he was welcomed into the program one year after coaching a combined 20 seasons of junior varsity boys and varsity girls basketball at Huron High School.

While Schaeffer enters his second year as assistant principal at Warren High School, his wife Mary resumes her position as superintendent for Marietta City School District.

So naturally, Cade, who will enter her senior season with the Warriors, pursued the Warren-Marietta rivalry during a question and answer session.

“How does it feel to work at Warren when your wife works at Marietta?” Cade asked.

Regina Leftwich, left, and Chad Smith will join the coaching staff under Warren High School girls basketball first-year head coach Darius Schaeffer. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Schaeffer was quick to reply: “That is a great question and it’s going to be great for bragging rights. Those two games are going to be very important. For both of us. But it will be fun.”

Members of the Warren girls basketball team recently completed their summer league season at St. Marys. Without having many plays in place, coach Schaeffer instructed his girls just to give 110% on the floor. And score when possible.

Even though Schaeffer had one year under his belt with the student population at Warren High School, communication with his players was rare. Yet, when game time arrived over the summer, he was impressed how quickly team members picked up on his message.

“I remember calling a timeout and just drawing something up just to see how they would respond,” said Schaeffer, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in integrated mathemathics from Bowling Green State University and has two master’s degrees in education. “They went out and executed it exactly the way it should have been executed. So that was encouraging to see.

“There is nothing that I’ve seen so far that makes me think they are not going to be able to handle what I throw out. We have several seniors, but it’s a fairly young team.”

Brandon Simoniette, a former boys basketball player at Warren High School, is one of the new assistant coaches for the Warren girls basketball team. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Schaeffer admits he can be laid back along the sidelines, but that doesn’t mean he lacks a competitive fire. The first two seasons as the girls basketball coach at Huron resulted in back-to-back, 16-win seasons — the first time the school had finished above .500 in more than two decades.

He transformed a school known as a volleyball powerhouse into a conversation piece in girls basketball at the Division III level. He doesn’t see any reason why he can produce similar results with a Warren girls basketball program which finished 11-11 last season.

“Since 1999, Huron volleyball had won six state championships,” Schaeffer said. “So for every girl in that town that’s what they wanted to do. It was a volleyball school. So getting kids to buy in, my daughter included, to convince them they can play two sports was huge”

Over his last 11 seasons as the Huron JV boys basketball coach, Schaeffer finished with a record of 173-43.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s year one, year two — I’m going to want to win,” Schaeffer said. “As a competitor, you are always going to put that pressure on yourself. Standing here right now, I think we will be very successful.”

Cade and fellow senior Rylee Arnold are encouraged by the early returns from a staff which includes all new faces. Coach Schaeffer has a background in coaching cross country, so the girls expect to push the issue up the floor at a faster pace than in previous seasons.

“(Coach Schaeffer) wants us to play faster — get it and go,” Arnold said. “Before, we were more of a set play type of package, so that’s going to be a big change. But I think it suits us all.”

Cade expects cross country training to be part of the mix. The approach can do nothing but be beneficial.

“It will be beneficial to get out and go, but no teenage girl wants to run for two hours, right?” Cade replied. “We definitely don’t want to be a cross country team, but I think it will be good to get some of that conditioning.”

Joining Schaeffer’s staff are Chris Smith, who has given 20 years of service to basketball at Warren, along with former Belpre High School girls basketball coach Regina Leftwich and former Warren High School boys basketball player Brandon Simoniette.

“I’ve gotten used to seeing coach Schaeffer around the hallways — I know him enough and the rest of the coaching staff that we will be able to have the same mindset going into the season,” Arnold said. “We are all on the same page and get along very well.”

As he introduced coach Schaeffer at the press conference, Warren athletic director Steve Harold used the Warriors’ boys basketball program as a reference point. If they can virtually sell out home games, why can’t the girls?

Schaeffer met all the criteria and checked the boxes when the hiring committee began its search on March 11.

“I feel like leaving a footprint here would really be great,” Cade said. “We have a young team, so I definitely think that the season, once it’s built up, the program is going to be phenomenal.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com.