Roger Achter's first season as the varsity girls’ basketball coach at Clay was an eye-opener.

After 12 years as an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Cardinal Stritch and several years as a boys' assistant at Clay, Achter thought he was ready to become a head coach.

When Clay's varsity girls’ job opened Achter jumped at the chance. His first squad went 9-11 in 1995-96.

“My original intention was to coach a couple years with the girls and then apply for the guys' jobs,” Achter recalled. “It's quite an adjustment going from the boys' side to the girls' side. The biggest adjustment was you had to get used to the girls and their mannerisms.”

After only one season, Achter was sold on the girls' game.

“The one thing that hooked me with the girls was, once they bought into the system, they actually worked harder than the guys,” he said. “I was having fun; I got hooked. The one thing I have really enjoyed with the girls is their honesty. They're just flat-out blunt. They don't pull any punches, and that's good. I don't, either. I'm going to tell you the way it is.

“I'll never go back to coaching boys.”

Achter, 50, resigned as Clay's coach on Feb. 28. It was a difficult decision, he said, but then again, it wasn't. Achter has been coaching since he was 22 years old, or 56 percent of his life.

“I've been thinking about (resigning) the last couple years, just from the standpoint of being in it so long,” Achter said. “It was getting to the point where I was missing too much. My son, Ross, is now a junior, so I was missing some of his (athletic) stuff. When I did leave, Kevin Crosson and John Free, my assistants, were picking up all the slack. They were great with it, but I felt guilty. I didn't feel good about it.

“And the thing is, I haven't been able to go see my girls when I want to see them. My wife, Maryann, could go when she wanted. I've missed a lot, no question, but I've experienced a lot through coaching them, too.”

All three of Achter's daughters, Kate, 25, Susan, 22, and Jessica, 19, played for their father at Clay.

Kate, who played for the Eagles from 2000-04, was the City League Player of the Year in 2004 and went on to star at Bowling Green State University. Jessica was a second-team all-league player as a senior, but Susan was unable to finish her career after injuring her shoulder playing volleyball her senior year.

Achter said it was “extremely hard” in the dual role of father and coach to his children.

“It was hard on the family,” he said. “I learned a lot with Kate. I guess you could say she was my test dummy. I had to adjust a lot of things, a lot of trial and error with Kate. There were a lot of smiles and a lot of tears. I'll be the first to admit, at times I acted like a jerk toward her because I was so demanding of her, and that wasn't fair to her. I had to tone it down with the other two.”

Achter's 165-166 career record includes a 1-18 finish this past season. He led the Eagles to three Great Lakes League championships (1998, 2002, '03) and he won three GLL Coach of the Year awards and one CL Coach of the Year award.

He said he has no desire to be a head coach again.

“I might help out in the summer, but that's totally different,” Achter said. “I enjoyed it. It definitely had its ups and downs, but I've had the opportunity to coach many, many great girls and I wouldn't trade it for anything.”

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