Arriving every morning to an office that overlooked the basketball court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Kyle Stidom was remaining close to the sport that means so much to him.
It wasn’t close enough for Stidom.
After 18 months as corporate ticket sales manager for the Indiana Pacers, he decided it was time to change careers. The 2012 Greenwood Christian Academy graduate is now in his first season as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of Indianapolis.
“It was extremely difficult. I was in an NBA environment every day, but at the end of the day I thought it was best,” said Stidom, whose 2,059 points from 2008-12 place him 39th on the career boys scoring list in Indiana and first in Johnson County.
“I feel like my calling is to impact people for the name of Jesus. Show him through what I’m doing, and there’s no better avenue for me than to do it through coaching and the game I love.”
Stidom turns 24 in February, making him barely older than the UIndy players he works with on a daily basis.
He said coaching gives him the opportunity to attempt to influence young lives beyond what takes place in practices and games.
“It’s just helping them in whatever they’re passionate about and with the goals they have,” he said.
As a 6-foot-3 guard at Taylor University, Stidom was named second team All-Crossroads League as a senior. He was the 18th player in Trojans history to surpass 1,000 career points, and he did so in only three seasons.
After spending his freshman year mainly as a reserve player at Davenport University, an NAIA Division II program in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Stidom accumulated 1,553 points at Taylor. He concluded his college basketball career with a total of 1,670 points.
He is in the process of earning his master’s degree in strategic leadership at the University of Indianapolis. Recruiting, scouting and dealing with the program’s transportation for road games are among his roles as a coach.
“Kyle does a little bit of everything for us,” Wodrich said. “He likes to make a positive impact on young people. He’s a quick learner, and Kyle wants to learn and wants to be better.”
