Nathan VanDeventer had chances to play college basketball, tennis and baseball, but with his future beyond school in mind, he has decided to stay home.
The recent Columbus North graduate wants to be an athletics director. So he’ll attend IUPUC and work for the Bull Dogs as an assistant junior varsity basketball coach and as an intern in the athletics office.
“I know its big for students these days to go away and experience the college life, but I’m doing something that I love, so I don’t think I’ll miss it,” VanDeventer said.
VanDeventer was a varsity baseball player his first three years at North and appeared to be a solid college prospect. But he experienced arm trouble his junior year and did not play baseball as a senior.
In tennis, VanDeventer played his final three years and was the Bull Dogs’ No. 1 singles player as a senior. He played basketball all four years and was the starting point guard for most of his final two seasons.
When VanDeventer couldn’t find the right fit for school and sports, he approached boys basketball coach Paul Ferguson about helping with the North program.
“We would always joke about having Nate on the staff someday,” Ferguson said. “We just didn’t think it would be this early. It seemed like a natural fit to me. He’s a competitor, and he has a very strong work ethic, and he knows what it takes to be successful, and it’s really valuable to have your young players around guys like that.”
VanDeventer has served on North’s Student Athletic Board since its inception two years ago. He and other student-athletes have worked with athletics director Jeff Hester, assistant ADs Tim Bless and Wayne Roberts and athletics secretary Cindy McCoy on various projects.
Hester said bringing VanDeventer on as intern is a win-win situation for both parties.
“It’s a good way for him to gain some experience in the field that he wants to go into,” Hester said. “It’s a win for us, and a win for him because we could always use an extra set of hands to help prepare for events and do the little things that sometimes need to get done.”
This spring, VanDeventer was part of North’s Unified track team that won a regional title and finished fifth at state.
VanDeventer plans to major in education at IUPUC. He said Hester told him that since he wants to be a high school AD, it was better to go that route and get a teacher’s license. If he wanted to be a college AD, he would go into sports management or business administration.
Both of VanDeventer’s older siblings played sports in college. His sister Kristin was a swimmer at Virginia and Liberty, and his brother Michael will be a senior golfer at Ball State.
“I always thought I was never going to stay here,” VanDeventer said. “I thought that was going to be my last choice, but the coaching job and the job in the athletic office came up, and I just couldn’t say ‘no.’ I’m thankful for coach Ferguson and the basketball team for giving me an opportunity, and I’m thankful for Jeff Hester and the athletic department for giving me a chance, too.”
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Name: Nathan VanDeventer
High school: Columbus North
College: IUPUC
Major: Education
Part-time work: Junior varsity assistant boys basketball coach and intern in athletics office at North
Target job: To become a high school athletics director
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