By Shawn Nowlin
Seventeen years ago, William Fleming High hoisted up the Group AA State Basketball Title after defeating Brunswick 66-57 at the Siegel Center on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU).
Led by future NBA guard Troy Daniels who starred at VCU for four years and the ultra-athletic Jamelle Hagins, who earned a scholarship to the University of Delaware, many consider that team the best in school history. The Colonels have yet to reach that height since.
After doing his due diligence, Fleming Athletic Director Jamie Bednarek found the successor for longtime Colonels Coach Mickey Hardy. During a recent press conference at the school, Christian Kirchman conveyed his plans to continue the program’s tradition while guiding his young men, both on and off the court.
“I am excited to roll up my sleeves and get to work. William Fleming has a standard, and my job is to make sure our players live up to that every single day,” he said.
A Roanoke native, after graduating from Patrick Henry High in 2014, Kirchman attended Wytheville Community College for a year before transferring to Johnson C. Smith University where he earned a degree in sports management.
“My college years were some of the best times of my life. My basketball coaches, Steve Joyner Jr. and Mark Sherrill, really taught me how to be a man. I now get to impart that wisdom on my players,” he said.
When Kirchman returned home, he accepted a position as a special education teacher for Roanoke City Public Schools.
For the last six years, Kirchman served as an assistant on Coach Jack Esworthy’s staff, helping the Patriots reach the Class 5 state championship game last year. On what he learned as Esworthy’s right hand, Kirchman said, “I got to see how a program works in all facets. You don’t know how to respond to certain situations until they arise.”
He added, “The true character of a leader is how they respond to adversity. As a player and assistant coach, I tried to be a sponge and soak up as much information from Coach Esworthy as possible.”
For Fleming to reach its full potential this year, everyone involved with the program will have to buy in. “Giving maximum effort isn’t just when you feel like it. Teams that maximize their full potential take no days off,” he said.
Kirchman’s passion for motivating young men, attention to detail and basketball acumen are why many feel he is the right person for this hire. To say that Colonel Nation is excited about the upcoming season would be an understatement.
“I believe that if I can grow my player’s minds then I can grow their games too. We are certainly going to surprise some people,” he said.
