GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Jordan George always envisioned coaching at Forest Hills Central.
"Being able to take over the program is a dream come true," George said.
It's been a dream of his ever since he can remember.
"This has kind of been my whole life," George said. "I think I witnessed my first FHC basketball practice when I was six months old in a car seat."
Jordan has been around the Rangers since the diaper days because his dad, Ken, held the same position at FHC for 24 years before retiring in 2018.
"Growing up watching him inspired me quite a bit," Jordan George said.
Now, it is Jordan who is the inspiration for his pops.
"Can there be anything better as a Dad you do what you dreamed of your whole life with your wife," Ken George said. "A husband and wife team, and coach a team for so long and then your kid wants to do it again? Oh, it's one of the greatest things in the world."
Ken is keeping his space, letting Jordan put his own stamp on the program.
"He doesn't need me," Ken said. "He's a veteran coach already in the way he approaches things. His game management, his player management and how he relates with the kids. There is nothing he needs from me."
It's easy to see that is already making an impact. The Rangers are 7-1 to begin the season. It is the program's best start since the 2019-2020 campaign.
"He's more relatable," FHC senior basketball player Brady Miller said. "But he also knows when to get us going and when to cool us down."
George has instilled the "Take the Stairs" mantra, which boils down to making the right choice over the easy one. His players are bought in.
"We all go by it," FHC junior basketball player Brendan Cargill said. "You have to do what is hard and not what is easy. Do what you can do, not what you have to do. It's a can thing not a have to thing."
The crazy thing about the 26-year-old, he is believed to be one of the youngest coaches in the state. He is not taking it lightly.
"Taking over the program at this young of an age, I just see as an incredible opportunity and a chance to really build the program the way I want to," George said.
Most of all, George wants to be here for the long haul, and create his own legacy at FHC.
"This place is everything for my family and to me growing up," George said. "My best memories took place in this gym, really."
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