It didn’t take long for Pella Christian High School to announce Larry Hessing’s replacement — just the fourth Eagles boys basketball head coach hired over the past seven decades, as JD Boer beginning leading the program this coming winter.

Boer is a Dordt graduate and attended Western Christian High School, and comes highly recommended, according to Pella Christian Activities Director Dan Branderhorst.

“He’s really impressed me from the first conversation we had,” Branderhorst says. “After speaking with several references and guys who know him well, that reputation just grew in my mind because he really gets it — he has a love for kids, he’s passionate about basketball, and he wants others to succeed.”

JD has basketball coaching experience at Valley Christian in Arizona and with the men’s program at Dordt University. He, his wife Erica and daughter Audrey will make the transition to Pella in the coming months, and Boer will teach at Pella Christian High School starting in the fall.

Stay tuned to 92.1 KRLS for more about Larry Hessing’s retirement and the future of Pella Christian boys basketball, including an interview with Branderhorst about the new hire on this Saturday’s Knoxville Hy-Vee Radio Coaches Corner.