With his youngest child set to graduate from high school, Nick Orduna had for some time eyed 2020 as a possible year to step away from coaching.
Still, this was a hard decision for the longtime Lincoln Christian girls basketball coach.
“It came to that point, but it’s not easy because when you get coaching in your blood and you enjoy doing it, it’s always difficult,†Orduna said Tuesday. “But I’m really at peace with the decision.â€
The 2020 Nebraska High School Hall of Fame class will be inducted Oct. 4 at Lincoln East High School.Â
After turning — and maintaining — Lincoln Christian into one of the top girls basketball programs in the state, Orduna officially announced his resignation late last week.
Over a 20-year stretch, his Lincoln Christian teams combined for 306 wins, 14 state tournament appearances, five state finals appearances and state championships in 2002 and 2017.
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The achievements were a great touch, but Orduna will miss something more.
"That’s an easy one, it’s the relationships," he said. "That’s obviously with the players that I’ve been able to coach. I’ve had great relationships with opposing coaches, especially in the Centennial Conference. We just have a close connection with those coaches.
"… even the referees. The relationships is what’s always going to be special."
Orduna had two stints as the Christian girls coach.
He took over the program in 1995 after graduating from Nebraska Wesleyan. At the time, he was 22 or 23.
"(I) even got to coach my sister," Orduna said. "You hear about father-daughter experiences, but I was so young my sister was a junior (in high school)."
Orduna stepped down after the 2002 season to become a full-time youth pastor at Heritage Bible Church in Lincoln.
He missed teaching and coaching, and when the opportunity to return to Christian presented itself in 2009, Orduna jumped on it, “and I’m glad I did because it’s been a great, great run these last 11 years.â€
Christian had its best stretch in school history, making the state tournament in 11 of 12 seasons. With players such as Chloe Dworak, Ashlyn Power and Emie Hollenbeck leading the way, the Crusaders won a state title in 2017. Despite those players moving on, Christian maintained a high level of success, reaching the Class C-1 state tournament final in 2019 and 2020. The Crusaders have reached the state semifinals in six straight seasons.
"That has been really special," Orduna said. "I think a lot of people, especially last year, it was kind of up in the air of what was going to happen, but we made it all the way to the state finals. That was really rewarding for these girls. A lot of these girls were freshmen and sophomores and going against some of these greats that we had and a lot of them were sisters, too. They got beat on and sharpened so it was kind of their time to rise, and it was cool to see them do it."
Christian was always known for having strong shooting teams under Orduna. The 2016-17 squad made a state-record 303 three-pointers, which ranked seventh nationally that season.
Orduna reached the 300-win milestone in January, and he has some other big milestones coming. He’ll be celebrating his 50th birthday in August, and a 30-year wedding anniversary in December. He and his wife became grandparents six months ago.
Orduna will continue to teach technology classes at Lincoln Christian while serving as a part-time youth pastor, so only one chapter is being closed.
But it’s a special one to Orduna, who always had an interest in coaching, starting out a strength coach and working for Boyd Epley at Nebraska. Soon, coaching girls basketball became his calling.
"People ask me all the time, would you ever want to coach boys," Orduna said. "I’ve never known anything else and I really enjoyed coaching the girls and they’re so coachable, they want to be taught and learn. When I grew up in a house with two younger sisters and my mom … I’ve really enjoyed girls basketball.
"I’m especially thankful for my family for allowing me to coach which took me away from home. I hope that I have represented the school and more importantly, my Lord and Savior, in a positive way."
Reach Clark Grell at 402-473-2639 or cgrell@journalstar.com. On Twitter at @LJSSportsGrell.