Colton McClemans is the new head boys’ basketball coach at Aberdeen Central.

McClemans, a special education teacher at Simmons Middle School, has been with the Golden Eagles for the past five seasons, four years on staff and one year as a volunteer assistant.

“It’s a good transition to get to meet a lot of neat kids and already have some really good relationships with those kids,” McClemans said. “That makes my job a little bit easier.”

McClemans already has a good understanding of the culture surrounding Central basketball.

“The awesome thing is Aberdeen’s a basketball community,” McClemans said. “So you know there’s a lot of support that goes into Aberdeen Central basketball, whether it’s on the boys’ side or the girls’ side.”

McClemans, who is also an assistant tennis coach and head freshman football coach, has served as assistant basketball coach so he knows all of the Golden Eagles.

“I’ve been able to work with those guys and then in the summer a lot of times I get to work with everyone 9-12,” McClemans said.

McClemans said because he is already a member of the school system, it should make the transition go smoothly.

“The process is very similar,” he said, “and that’s the cool part, it’s not like you’re learning a whole school system and the way that they do things.”

McClemans is a 2018 graduate of Watertown High School, where he played basketball for the Arrows and he is looking forward to becoming the head coach for Central, the same position his father, Pat, currently holds in Watertown.

“I’m really grateful and excited for it. My dad’s the head coach over in Watertown. I’ve been around basketball pretty much my entire life,” McClemans said. “I grew up watching him coach and kind of putting teams together the way that he did, whether it was on the girls’ side or the boys’ side. It’s a cool opportunity that not a lot of people get to get, because there’s only 20 jobs in AA that open up, so it’s a cool experience.”

McClemans said a key to the process will be to build relationships with the players and make them feel like they’re a special part of the program.

“The main thing I just want to push across is we want to have strong relationships with kids and build a culture around that,” McClemans said, “and make sure that kids are welcomed and feel like they’re a part of something that represents our community and Aberdeen Central.”