(LAGRANGE) – A person with familiarity of the Lakeland boys basketball team has been hired to be the new Varsity coach. Lakeland A.D. Ryan Yoder has announced that TJ Schneider is the new coach of the Lakers. Schneider graduated from Lakeland in 1996 and is in his 23rd year as a Lakeland teacher. In 2001, Schneider joined the boys’ basketball staff as a varsity assistant under head coach Tim Sirk. During his 9 years as the varsity assistant coach, the Lakeland boys’ basketball program enjoyed one of the most successful stretches in program history, notching a record of 137-70, including 6 NECC Championships, 4 NECC Tourney Championships, and 2 Sectional titles. Schneider also served as an occasional fill-in for head coach Tim Sirk during this time and logged a head coaching record of 7-1, which included winning the championship game of the team’s 2008 sectional title. In a media release, Schneider says he is passionate about about Lakeland Schools, the Lakeland community, and most of all the boys’ basketball program at Lakeland School Corporation. Schneider says he owes much of my personal success to the lessons I learned during my time as a member of the basketball program. Yoder says TJ’s passion for Lakeland runs deep. He says Schneider has a brilliant basketball mind and a clear vision for the future of our program.