Coshocton’s Record-Setting Conkle Set for One More That Hits Closer to Home
COSHOCTON, OH
Records are meant to be broken. While that saying may be true, nobody said anything about breaking more than one in the span of a week. Coshocton star Colton Conkle is looking to do just that. On Friday night, the senior became the school’s all time leading scorer with his 13th point against New Lexington, and the moment didn’t even hit him until an emotional embrace later on.
“Definitely whenever I gave my dad a hug, whenever after, we felt like the game was over. I mean, that’s whatever it set in that, It was just like, wow” said Conkle.
“Sometimes you wonder if you push your kids too hard, and I question myself a few times of whether how hard I really was pushing him, whether it was too hard, not hard enough” added his father and assistant coach Jeremy. “He never complained about it. You’re not going to find anybody who works any harder. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. He loves the game and he accepts all the challenges.”
But Colton isn’t done breaking records any time soon. 35 more points will see him become the county’s all time leading scorer, breaking a mark set by his own dad at Ridgewood back in 1995. But he certainly isn’t fazed by the moment.
“I mean, I think it’s just a little less pressure, but I don’t know. That’s just, I don’t know.” As Colton is on the verge of a record that hits a little closer to home, that’s just fine with his coach and dad.
“I knew it was possible. I mean, from the day he picked up that basketball and the gleam in his eye. I mean, he just, I just knew he was going to be something special. From the days in the front yard on the concrete and, you know, just getting up shot after shot. He just loves the game. He loves to play it and he just wants to win. And if the records are there to be broken and he breaks them, so be it” continued Coach Conkle.
But the question still remains: who’s the better scorer between father and son?
“Better scorer? I don’t know, maybe me because he doesn’t, he didn’t really look to score. This is the first year that actually coach told him, in order for us to be successful, you have to shoot the ball” claimed Coach Conkle.
“He affects the game in so many different ways. As scoring gets all the numbers and it gets all the attention. But it’s just one part of his game and that’s a blessing” added head coach James Herman.
It’s truly the relationship between coach and player, father and son, that has helped lead Colton to this record setting pace. “You know, I would say just how he never let me slack off at all. I mean, he’s definitely one of the main reasons why I got to this point, because it didn’t matter, you know, no matter what it is, he doesn’t let me go anything but 100%. And I thank him for that.”
On Tuesday night at River View, Colton has a chance to set one more record. And so holder’s name will remain the same in Coshocton County.
