The Shardo story

FINDLAY– When you look down the bench during a University of Findlay men's basketball game, there's the usual suspects. A head coach, a handful of assistants, and a large selection of players. Pretty standard stuff. The Oilers bench, however, looks a little bit different. On first glance, it might look like there's two of the same person. Although that's close, it turns out they're just two brothers that share a grand passion for the game. Dan and Mike Shardo are both long-time coaches for the University of Findlay, although their journeys to get there are different. For Dan, head coach Charlie Ernst's lead assistant, it started a long time ago, back when Dan was a high school coach. "I ran into Dan when he was a high school coach, at an AAU event," Ernst said. "He was a young high school coach at the time, told me that he wanted to get into the college game, and he asked me if I had any advice on how to do that. So, we had some small talk. "Well, a month later, we had an abrupt departure from our program. At the time I was an assistant to Ron (Niekamp). So, I called (Dan) up and said, 'Hey, I know you're gonna have to leave a full-time job, but it's an opportunity.' I didn't think he would take it. But he did. He made a lot of sacrifices, that's what it takes and that's what he did. I think it showed his commitment and his loyalty."Dan made quite the impression on Ernst early on, resulting in him being a quick choice once Ernst was chosen to replace Niekamp."When I became the head coach, for me it was a no-brainer that he would be my top assistant," Ernst said. "So he's been with me ever since I've been the head coach.""Dan's always putting us in the right spots," Findlay senior forward Jagger Landers said. "Always trying to help us maximize our own potential and being hard on us, because he knows we can always be better."Dan has been the mastermind behind the Oilers' high-powered offense. While Ernst has been the architect of Findlay's recent full-court press defensively, Dan has been the driving force between one of the strongest offensive units in all of Division II. "From the outset, Dan helped Ron on the offensive end," Ernst said. "I always handled defense for coach Niekamp. So, when I became head coach, I thought it would have been silly to flip-flop roles... you can't just hand the reins over to some young assistant or someone you don't trust. But, that's what continuity and a long-standing relationship does. It's like any relationship in life, you learn to trust one another the longer you know each other. I have full confidence in him coaching and teaching our guys, calling actions on offense.""Coach (Dan) Shardo always being there, the way that he's impacted what I do, is just helping me every day in practice," Landers said. "Really pushing me to be the best version of myself, and seeing things piece together as I've gotten older has been really special."Being able to forge relationships with players turned out to be a specialty that ran in the family, which Ernst and the Oilers found out rather quickly. "Mike started to kind of dip his toes into the water a little bit with our program," Ernst said. "He would be here maybe one day a week or so. Maybe two days a week. I don't know how long it's been now, maybe six, seven years ago."During the COVID season, Mike's availability every day, thanks to his day job, made him a valuable asset to the team. Once things settled and more staff members were able to attend practices and games, Mike had found himself a permanent home on the Oilers' sideline."Dan has been with the program, if you round up, it's gotta be almost 20 years at this point," assistant coach Eric Prigge said. "When we added Mike, he just added another level. He spends a lot of time working with our guys individually before and after practice. The one thing that stands out with both of them is their passion for this game. I don't have many conversations with these guys that aren't basketball.""Mike Shardo has been a really special individual for us," Landers said. "Helping us with scouting reports, helping us get in the gym, helping us in every way that you can think of off the court, whether it's skill-based or not, taking us out to eat, making sure everyone's in the right mindset. That's a special coach that not everyone has." "He made it work, he could be here every day," Ernst said. "And to be honest, he's been here every day ever since. He's not paid, he's not a full-time coach, but he's full-time committed. He does a great job, he works extremely hard in the preparation side of things, helps Dan mostly on the offensive side of the floor."While working with a sibling might sound like fun, it's natural to wonder what that relationship is like. For Ernst, there was never any concern there. "The two of them talk a lot, they trust one another but yet they don't mind challenging one another," Ernst said. "They were both raised in the same household, so the things that are important to me in order to teach those positive examples of hard work, commitment, loyalty, all those qualities that they learned at a young age, and they know are important to me, our entire staff in my opinion models that behavior.""The thing I was really impressed with, when Mike joined the group, is that they both approached it in a very professional manner," Prigge said. "Yes, they're brothers. But, if you walked in here and they didn't look alike, which of course they do in some regards, you wouldn't know they're brothers on the basketball court. Because we're here to do a job. Off the court, you can certainly see the bond they have together. Then, you add Dan's twin boys who are around a lot now. As they've grown up, it's like a Shardo party up here at times. It's great to see.""I knew when we brought Mike on board, what we were gonna get, before I really even knew him that well," Ernst added. "I didn't know what his basketball knowledge was, it's been far better than I would have imagined. But, most importantly, he's a loyal, hard-working, and committed person."Dan and Mike's impact on the Oilers is clear to see. Not only in their interactions with the coaches and players, but in the on the court results as well. Whether it's getting the team prepared for anything an opposing defense throws at them, introducing a potential recruit to coach Ernst, or being there when players need advice, the Shardos are vital to the success of the Oilers."If you look at any successful program, regardless of the sport or the level, there's another group of people that help behind the scenes as well," Prigge said. "This is my 14th year that I've been helping coach Ernst. The thing that Mike and I bring, and it's the benefit of being a volunteer as opposed to a paid coach, is we have different relationships with the guys. We're still coaches, but at the same time, we spend a lot more time during the game on the bench talking to guys, in practice talking to guys when they're not in the practice themselves.""I don't know that there's many staffs in our conference that have a volunteer coach that comes everyday, makes road trips, helps in recruiting, really does all the things that our full-time guys do," Ernst added.As the Oilers look to build on another successful start to the season, its offense is once again at the forefront. A product of both Dan and Mike's creation, Findlay's offense has grown into something special that other teams can't quite get the hang of. Maybe that's because they don't have a pair of like-minded brothers on their bench.