by Robin Wozny
Jasmyn Huntington Fletcher is the new head coach of the Varsity Girls Basketball program at Woodsville High School.- Courtesy photo.
Woodsville athletic director Lori Taylor announced the hiring of Jasmyn Huntington-Fletcher as their new head women’s basketball coach. Both Taylor and Huntington-Fletcher have a shared history as student-athletes at Oxbow High School and both were coached by famed coach Mona Garone. Huntington-Fletcher belongs to a family full of notable history makers both at the high school and collegiate levels. Her father held the Vermont high school scoring record for many years only to be broken by Jasmyn’s sister Jade. Jade went on to have a notable career at Vanderbilt. Both her brothers were outstanding high school athletes as well. Jasmyn scored the second most points in Vermont girls’ basketball history. Jasmyn was inducted into Vermont’s Sports Hall of Fame in 2023. Huntington-Fletcher then started her college career at Nevada before transferring to North Carolina, playing under coaching legend Sylvia Hatchell.
Huntington-Fletcher was asked about her return to the North Country? “I ended up reconnecting with my high school sweetheart, Derek. Moved to Las Vegas . . dreamed and we thought about really wanting to come home. But again, it just wasn’t in our cards yet. We had, you know, our blended family. We had his business and I was still just kind of in the wind trying to figure out how to make it back. And then the universe, you know, does funny things.(We) had a scary moment where we thought my stepdad was not going to make it. And my sister gave me a call and said, You gotta come home. And that phone call brought me (and eventually my family) home. So here I am and now opening up the doors to the basketball world again.”
When Taylor was asked how she managed to hire Huntington-Fletcher she responded, “So this summer when I learned that neither of our coaches were coming back
for girls basketball. . . I had my wheels spinning.. . I had heard that Jazz was back and she was maybe looking to coach. So once we posted it (the position), I made sure she saw it.” Upon returning to the area, Huntington-Fletcher was pursued by many parents to give individual lessons to their children and the coaching bug was born. So when Taylor called, Huntington-Fletcher said she was already beginning to think about getting into coaching when she and Taylor talked and that’s where fate and opportunity came together.
Huntington-Fletcher inherits a basketball program as it enters a rebuilding year. Rebuilding may not be what Huntington-Fletcher has in mind. She emphasized building skills, a trait she inherited from her dad, George Huntington. “He taught us from the ground up. And you didn’t get to move on to the next thing until you successfully completed something else.”
One thing is for sure, it will be a season where a long history of basketball success and traditions will influence the next generation. Whether these strong roots grow the program into a mighty oak, will depend on many factors, like any plant the program will need the right combination of sunshine, water and determination. WYKR will open their broadcasting season on December 11th, where both the varsity boys and girls will host Epping.