Varsity Q&A: New Aberdeen boys basketball coach Eric Esbrandt talks expectations and basketball background

Aberdeen’s newest boys basketball coach is no stranger to Harford County hoops.

Eric Esbrandt played for his predecessor, Bill Jones, as a freshman at North Harford. He was later coached by Edgewood’s Terry Maczko in AAU. Now, with Jones having left Aberdeen for an assistant job at his alma mater, North Harford, Esbrandt was promoted from the Eagles JV coach to his debut leading a varsity squad.

Esbrandt recently spoke with The Aegis about expectations for his new role and his basketball foundation background. (Editor’s note: some questions and answers have been lightly edited for clarity):

How did this opportunity come together?

I had been the JV coach the past three years. So, when Bill took over the varsity job, it was right after COVID, I got a physical education teaching job at Aberdeen around the same time Bill became the head coach. I reached out to him just expecting to volunteer, help out and he offered me the JV head coaching job, which I gladly accepted. We always had a pretty good relationship. I was really grateful and thankful for that opportunity.

What was it like playing for Bill Jones when you were in high school?

Bill, he’s the ultimate players’ coach. Everybody loves playing for him. He’s got a great sense of humor. He makes practice fun. He’ll obviously lay into you when he needs to and hold people accountable. But I’ve never heard of or seen a player that didn’t like playing for Bill.

What does your coaching background look like?

My first teaching position was at Edgewood middle school, so right up the road from Aberdeen. I was a JV assistant coach at Edgewood high school for two years. That was really my first kind of high school coaching experience, coaching with Isaiah Gills. Spent two years there. And then I actually left Edgewood middle school and went to Arbutus Middle School, it’s like in Catonsville. I was the head coach there for their middle school basketball team for two years. So basically two years as JV assistant at Edgewood and then two years as head coach at Arbutus Middle before coming to Aberdeen.

What was the communication like in passing the torch from Bill to you? Did he give you any guidance?

My wife always, especially during the season, if the phone rang, she rolls her eyes because she assumes it’s one of the coaches, specifically Bill because we’re constantly staying in contact. Even since he’s moved on, we’ve stayed in contact. Just kind of giving me advice on how to handle to the pressure of the head coaching job, helping me in my search for the JV coach and assistant coaches. And a big thing is the Aberdeen community. They’re a passionate bunch in basketball and football. They have high expectations, rightfully so, for their coaches. So it’s definitely big shoes to fill. I mean, Bill has had a lot of success in three years. But I’m excited for the challenge.

How would you describe yourself as a coach and your coaching philosophy?

I do take a pretty similar approach to Bill. I do consider myself a player’s coach. The biggest thing that I focus on is really the relationship with the players –– lasting relationships. I want them to stay in contact even after they graduate, after they move on to the next level. Really just kind of building a solid relationship to where they want to play for me and they want to play hard and everybody wants what’s best for each other.

And then being a teacher in the school, my huge focus is in the classroom. Obviously grades come first. For JV, these past three years, that was my number one focus. … That’s always my number one focus. I tell the guys, ‘Whether you play basketball at the next level or not, or whether you go to college or not, your performance in school matters most. Your grades matter if you want to be successful after high school.’

I think that anybody who works in basketball has a coach or mentor they look back on who had a profound impact on them. I’m curious who that person was for you?

I always say there’s two. My dad, as corny as it sounds. My dad was my coach growing up and he really developed my passion for basketball. All the nights in the driveway, shooting after the lights go down, doing drills, didn’t want to come inside for dinner until we got something right. He was always harder on me than the other kids, sometimes I didn’t appreciate that. Looking back, I am grateful. It really made me the player and the coach that I am. My dad was also very calm on the sideline, which I always think about and remember. Not always an easy thing to do in the heat of the moment, but it’s something that I try to do now as a coach. You can’t really expect your players to stay calm and collected when you’re screaming and cussing on the sideline.

The other one is actually Terry Maczko, who’s at Edgewood high school right now. I was the same age as his son, Mike. So we grew up playing together and Terry was my AAU coach growing up. I remember a lot of the drills and how fundamentals are so crucial. He was a big stickler for fundamentals and the importance in how the game should be played the right way, which is something that I think we need nowadays.

You’re losing nearly the entire starting lineup from last year but you will return one key piece in Austin Carter. What excites you about coaching Austin for his senior season?

A lot. We sat down and we’ve had conversations already. Austin was on JV as a freshman my first year. So we came in to Aberdeen together and I’m super excited to be the one that’s going to send him off. He’s a phenomenal kid, on and off the court. Most kids you get an email from a teacher, you’re holding your breath and expecting the worst. You get an email about Austin, it’s something positive that he’s doing in the classroom. He’s a leader. He’s everything you could ask for out of out of a kid and a basketball player. Super excited to get to work with him and hopefully I can help him get to the next level and be as successful as possible.

We talked about some of the people that molded you. Is there a moment that has helped define you as a coach?

I’ve had my successes on the court coaching and everybody wants to win. Obviously, I love to win. One of the reasons why I love coaching is that competition. But last season’s success in the classroom is really what always jumps out to me. I told the kids last year that was the highlight of my coaching career. And we all kind of chuckled about it because it’s not even basketball related. But taking a group of kids, some that have failed before and teachers have almost probably given up on, to be able to rally that group and get them to work hard in the classroom and achieve that goal of a 3.0 and losing nobody to grades, it’s huge.

Then last year, we finished like 8-12 but we won four out of our last five. So it was one of those things where everything kind of came full circle at the end of the season to where the success in the classroom came first and then success on the court came later on. It just showed their grit and determination throughout the entire process.

What’s life like for Eric outside of basketball?

The hardest part about coaching is being away from my family. I got a 2 year old son, he just turned 2 in February. And my daughter was born earlier this month. So it’s tough being away from home but my wife is super supportive. She brought my son to almost every single one of our games last year. He’s coming into the locker room with me at halftime and at the end of the games. He has a relationship with the players and with the program. It’s truly special what I think we have building at Aberdeen and I just I love being part of that school with that community. And I hope that my kids can keep coming to the games and keep supporting the Eagles and be a part of all that with me.