By Mike O'Brien
West Point News

Raised in a basketball family, new coach happy to be a Cadet

Whether it’s basketball in the driveway, or on the national stage, basketball is a huge part of the Shepard family.

From playing to coaching, they have done it all.

For Taylor Shepard, who is the oldest of six kids, her love for basketball began at a young age. And her passion for the sport continues to this day.

Following her playing days, which included a basketball career at Midland University, she launched a coaching career.

Taylor coached at Elkhorn South High School as an assistant coach. And while she enjoyed her time as an assistant, the drive to be a head coach grew deeper and deeper.

When the West Point-Beemer girls basketball program had an opening, Shepard jumped at the opportunity.

“This is a great community to be a part of. I have absolutely loved my time here so far,” Shepard said.

An additional cherry on top was joining a program with a solid foundation that has been developed over the last several seasons.

“It’s exciting to see a program that has had success in the past. They have gotten really close to making it to state,” Shepard said. “There are a lot of pieces in place to accomplish our goal of making it to the state tournament.”

Needless to say, qualifying for state as a head coach would be a dream-come-true. That being said, becoming a head coach was a dream-come-true as well.

This past spring, West Point-Beemer offered her the job, and Taylor accepted.

A week prior, her brother accepted the head coaching job for the Cedar Bluffs boys basketball team.

And if that wasn’t excitement enough, more good news was on its way for the Shepard family.

Taylor’s younger sister, Jessica, was a junior at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish were competing in the NCAA Women’s March Madness tournament.

Right around the Sweet 16 portion of the tourney is when Taylor got the phone call informing her that she had been hired.

Soon after, Jessica treated the Shepard family to an unforgettable moment as she played a huge role in Notre Dame capturing the women’s basketball national championship.

“It was definitely a whirl-wind couple of weeks,” Shepard said. “To be able to celebrate a head coaching job with my family was a lot of fun.

“Then the Final Four was obviously a great experience. It was so much fun to be involved in games that came down to the wire with last second shots. That was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Jessica will be a senior this year for Notre Dame, who will be seeking a repeat title.

It goes without saying, basketball is a huge part of the Shepard family. All six siblings played the sport. And Midland University is a big part of their family too.

Taylor has a younger sister currently playing at Midland, and another sister who will join the Warrior basketball program next year.

With two head coaches, and two (soon-to-be three) college athletes, basketball season will make for a hectic time of year for the Shepard parents, Mark and Kim.

Taylor said that in the month of December, her parents plan to attend 32 games.

Being able to share her passion of basketball with her family is something awfully special for Taylor.

“As we’ve grown, it’s really fun to get involved with each other’s teams,” Shepard said. “We share a lot of things with each other. It’s fun being able to share the joys, and even the struggles.”

Taylor also shared the memories of basketball in her younger days.

“Growing up, we played a lot of basketball. My mom, my siblings and I would play a lot of “21” in the driveway. It was a lot of fun, but always led to tears with one of us crying. Usually it was my mom because us kids were yelling at each other,” Taylor said with a chuckle.

That competitive spirit was seen in Taylor as a youngster. And her joy to compete has never left.

As a coach, Taylor is motivated to see her players succeed. Having an opportunity to be a part of the Cadet family, and help this program achieve greatness, is nothing but excitement for Shepard.

“I’m excited. We have special girls and a special team,” Shepard said. “From day one, our girls have worked super hard. Our expectation is state. That’s our mindset.”