By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Serving as a head coach at the high school level is something different for new Highland Park girls basketball coach Kristy Euwer-Ideker.
But it's about the only thing Euwer-Ideker hasn't done in a long coaching career and she's excited about what the future holds with the Scots.
Euwer-Ideker was approved by the USD 501 school board Thursday night as the Highland Park head coach, taking over for Rob Brown, who resigned earlier this month after a five-year stint at the school.
"I've coached four seasons at Shawnee Heights Middle School and I've coached AAU basketball as the head coach and I've been coaching for over 20 years,'' Euwer-Ideker said. "I've always worked with high school kids. I love high school kids because I can be a little bit more aggressive with them.''
And Euwer-Ideker feels like she's a good fit with Highland Park's philosophy.
"With my coaching style I always coach with the attitude that there's nothing that's impossible and I love what Highland Park offers their students,'' she said. "No matter what challenges they're faced with they always put their students first and that is how I coach.
"I put my players first. I want to make sure that they learn. I've only been in Topeka 11 years, but I know (Highland Park's) history and I admire the richness that they put into their students.''
Highland Park is coming off an 8-15 season in 2025-2026, but the Scots return several players that saw a lot of varsity time this past season and Euwer-Ideker is confident about what lies ahead.
"There might be a challenge but the challenges I accept,'' she said. "Let's go back to where we were and don't overlook where we've been, but take it where we're going to go.''
"It's a privilege to be able to step into a school district that puts that kind of effort into their students. And you'll see, I'm pretty passionate about the game and about the kids.''
Brown compiled a 62-47 record at Highland Park and took the Scots to the Class 5A state tournament in 2023, the school's first appearance at state in more than a decade.
