BEREA, Ohio – Cheri Harrer was trying to describe the farm where she grew up.
The Baldwin Wallace University women’s basketball coach talked about it being about 1,000 acres. She talked about raising cattle for beef and hogs for breeding. She talked about growing grain.
“It’s in the middle of nowhere,” she said.
“Near what town?” I asked.
“No town, really,” she said. “It’s sort of between Bucyrus and Tiffin (in Western Ohio). There were about three houses every mile."
The main place she practiced basketball was in a huge barn that served as a shop and storage area for tractors and other farm equipment.
“The hoop was nailed to the barn door,” she said. “But it was pretty good. There was a concrete floor. I could practice in any weather.”
She said the hardest part of living on the farm was the isolation from other kids.
“Part of the attraction of basketball was I could do it by myself,” she said.
There were no girls teams in grade school or junior high. She used to play basketball with boys at recess and sometimes after school.
“In the eighth grade, the boys coach (John Short) let me practice with his team,” she said. “I kept stats during games. He was the one who made me think about being a coach. He even gave me some of his notes.”
Harrer played at Wynford High in Bucyrus, where the girls team competed in Ohio’s smallest division. Next stop was Findlay College, now the University of Findlay. She wasn’t recruited. She went out for the team and ended up as a four-year starter and NAIA Academic All-American.
When Cheri Harrer, pictured here in a 2002 file photo, was hired as BW's women's basketball coach, she thought it would be 'a stepping stone' to a job at a higher level. Falling in love with the Berea campus and the caliber of students changed her mind. (Gus Chan / The Plain Dealer) The Plain Dealer
THIRTY YEARS AGO
Harrer was an assistant coach at Findlay. She also was the sports information director and helped out in admissions. One day she saw an advertisement in Higher Education Magazine for a head basketball coach at Baldwin Wallace.
This was 1990. Women’s sports were growing, but still on wobbly legs at many colleges. She came in as a full-time physical education teacher and the head coach.
She took over a losing program and not much changed in her first two years, records of 8-18 and 11-16.
She has never had a losing season since — not once in 28 years. BW carries a 19-2 record into Wednesday’s 7 p.m. home game with rival John Carroll. Both teams are 13-1 in the OAC, and Baldwin Wallace is ranked 12th in NCAA Division III.
There have been 14 trips to the Division III NCAA Tournament, four trips to the Division III Elite Eight and eight Ohio Athletic Conference regular-season titles.
Harrer has a 602-223 career record and is a member of the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame.
“When I first went BW, I thought it could be stepping stone to another job," she said.
She had chances to interview for positions at the Division II level. Several years ago, Division I Cleveland State invited her to apply for its opening.
“I’m really still a farm girl," she said. “I’m more comfortable in the Metroparks than downtown. At BW, we have the best of both, being near the city and near the parks."
HER JOB, HER PLAYERS, HER FAITH
The 56-year-old Harrer has never been married or had children.
“I think about that sometimes” she said. “But I guess I would have had to meet my husband in a gym.”
But as BW Director of Athletics Communication Kevin Ruple said, “She has hundreds of kids, her players. She keeps in touch with so many of them.”
Early in her career, Harrer lived in an apartment in the dorm for five years.
“There were a few members of the faculty who did that," said Harrer. “They hoped it would keep the kids in line.”
She eventually moved out of the dorms, but not far.
“She lives across the street,” said Ruple. “I’d she her walking to work around 7:30 in the morning. I’ve seen her going home around 10 at night.”
As assistant coach Cody Hartzler said: “She has poured herself into her players and the program. She has her church, a very strong faith. That’s her life."
Harrer attends Grace Church in Middleburg Heights.
“With all her success, Cheri could have coached at a higher level," said Grace Pastor Jonathan Schaeffer. “She’s chosen to serve one school. Unlike some winning coaches, she is truly humble, no airs about her, no swagger."
Schaeffer said each year Harrer’s team has a project where they raise money for someone such as a single mom or an older person who lost a spouse.
“Cheri loves basketball and coaching,” said Schaeffer. “But she also is about investing in the lives of her players. That’s her calling."
Baldwin Wallace Coach Cheri Harrer's team has a 3.77 GPA this season, the highest in her 30 years as coach. (Steven Schuster / Baldwin Wallace University)
ABOUT THOSE NUMBERS
Harrer opened the season with 583 victories. She didn’t mention a chance to win No. 600.
But as BW started fast and the chance approached in a February 1 game against Muskingum, Harrer noticed “the players were almost giddy heading into the game.”
The coach hoped they weren’t taking last place Muskingum lightly.
Just the opposite. The players had big plans. They won 86-56. Then they showered Harrer with flowers, balloons and notes written by the players to the coach. There were lots of pictures taken, cookies eaten and more than a few happy tears.
“I just want this season to be about the kids, especially our five seniors," she said. “This is a very special group. The team GPA is 3.77, the highest we’ve ever had here.”
The Yellow Jackets have three returning players who were OAC All-Academic picks at the end of last season: Riley Schill (Elyria Catholic), Kara Marshall (Akron Hoban) and Kasey Hughes (Springboro, Ohio).
MORE THAN NUMBERS
Harrer said she rarely recruits a player unless her GPA is at least 3.5. While Division III is non-scholarship, coaches try to sell their school and programs to recruits and their parents.
“We also try to be careful with team chemistry,” said Harrer. “If a recruit has a visit and some of our players think she wouldn’t fit, we stop recruiting her.”
BW plays unselfish basketball. Schill is the leading scorer at 11.1 per game, followed by senior Hannah Fecht (Hilliard, Ohio) at 10.0. The Yellow Jackets play 11 players at least 10 minutes a game.
Harrer has adjusted to modern coaching, relying more on texts than in the past. But she also has 15-minute monthly meetings with each player where they can talk about “anything but basketball unless that’s really what she wants to talk about.”
She writes the players notes and often runs them past Hartzler, her assistant for the last five years.
As Hartzler said: “Sometimes the players don’t fully appreciate how Coach was willing to tell them not just what they want to hear, but what they need to hear. Then they come back after graduating and tell us that.”
BW is once again contending for an OAC championship and NCAA Tournament berth.
“Winning is important," Harrer said. “As the years as have passed, I’ve found I need to be more careful how I say things. Communication is more important than ever. I want the players to have a good experience here.”
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