Ex-Carmel coach 'looking forward to feeling some of that pressure again' with Hamilton Heights
Erin Trimpe applied for the Hamilton Heights girls basketball coach job the day it was posted.
The former Carmel coach was eager to rejoin the ranks as a head coach after spending last season as an assistant at Noblesville, and she had Hamilton Heights on her list, attracted by how the community supports girls basketball and the program's propensity for bringing in hard-working, multi-sport athletes.
Trimpe applied in early March, then was officially offered the job a few weeks later. The Hamilton Heights school board approved her hire in late April.
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"(Hamilton Heights) has a great support system and people who love the game of basketball and love their Huskies," she said. "It's such a unique opportunity to lead young women and hopefully build their confidence both on- and off-the-court within a community that has experienced success and knows what it takes to reach that point."
A 2007 Park Tudor grad, Trimpe replaces Keegan Cherry, who stepped down following the season to spend more time with his daughters. Cherry, whose brother Kevin is head boys coach at Lapel, was 143-57 five sectional championships and two regional crowns over eight seasons.
The Huskies are coming off a dominating four-year run led by Indiana All-Star Camryn Runner (Evansville commit): 80-17, four sectional titles and back-to-back semistate appearances.
Runner is one of four graduating seniors (Ella Hickok, Hadleigh Cherry and Kassidy Schakel), but Heights is set to return its third-leading scorer in Katie Brown and Kennedy Cherry, both of whom played 20-plus games as juniors.
Trimpe, whose staff will include current HH assistants Stephanie Hoane and Alex King, has been able to "lay a pretty good foundation" with her new players and has also prioritized building in-roads with the Huskies' youth program.
"Getting to know those younger kids is one of the most fun parts of the job," Trimpe said. "That's something I really pride myself and our program on, getting kindergarten through eighth-grade girls excited to be a Husky and to play for me at the high school and play for each other."
Trimpe was previously head coach at Carmel, where she compiled a 49-42 record over four seasons. She resigned following the 2022-23 season, during which the Greyhounds went 4-19 against the state's second-toughest schedule with a roster consisting of mostly sophomores.
"As great as the kids were, it was clear that it wasn't the right fit for me," Trimpe said. "It was time to move on. It was time for Carmel to move on. And as hard as that was and as devastated as I was, it turned out to be a really good thing for me and has led me to really great situations at Noblesville and Hamilton Heights."
Trimpe said stepping away from coaching, even if just for a season, was "never really an option," but she didn't want to go somewhere to just fill the void. She wanted to find a place where she could learn, have meaningful input and be herself.
One of the first people Trimpe reached out to was Noblesville coach Donna Buckley, with whom she had forged a "genuine friendship" over the years. Trimpe was added on as an assistant and helped the Millers to an 18-9 finish that included their third sectional championship in four years and second semistate finals appearance in three years.
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"It was the perfect transition and the perfect situation," said Trimpe, who benefited from being able to take a step back and move into a learning role.
"It really taught me you can be yourself and get the most out of kids," she continued. "The pressure that comes with head coaching — I was very young when I took over at Carmel. I was so lucky to have so many great kids and great families, but somewhere along the way you kind of forget that you are still you."
Asked how she handles the pressures of being a head coach, Trimpe replied: "I love it. Pressure is privilege. I stand by that."
"When you give your all and you throw yourself into something, you are doing it the right way — you just have to figure out how to manage all of that," she said. "I think I have a better balance these days, but I'm looking forward to feeling some of that pressure again."
Follow Brian Haenchen on Twitter at @Brian_Haenchen.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Erin Trimpe hired as new Hamilton Heights girls basketball coach
