BIG PINEY – The Wyoming Coaches Association selected Big Piney High School assistant boys’ basketball coach Chad Espenscheid as the 2022-2023 Winter Sports High School Boys’ Basketball Assistant Coach of the Year on April 17.

Espencheid served four years as an assistant coach for the Puncher boys’ basketball program. He also coached sixth-, seventh- and eighth-grade boys’ basketball at Big Piney Middle School.

Head boys’ basketball coach Nate Strong praised Espenscheid’s willingness to dedicate innumerable hours to coaching on top of a full-time career outside the district.

“Unlike many coaches, Chad is not a regular employee of the school district, but is a local entrepreneur who constantly adjusts his schedule to meet the needs of the team and athletes,” Strong said.

Strong highlighted Espenscheid’s “incredible knowledge” of basketball and the assistant coach’s love for the game and players.

“One of Chad’s biggest achievements has been his unrelenting commitment to giving all Big Piney kids an opportunity to play basketball all year round,” Strong wrote. “He donates countless hours and spends an enormous amount of his own money to make sure our local children maximize their potential and become competitive.”

Espenscheid also coaches for the Sublette County high-school rodeo team.

“Chad is extremely humble and much of his dedication to kids goes unnoticed,” said Strong. “Yet I have seen, first hand, the abilities of our athletes in basketball and rodeo grow immensely because of what Chad is doing.”