(Elkhart) — Bodie Bender is very familiar with North Side Gym.

He worked there as an assistant to Randy DeShone, when DeShone was the head basketball coach at Elkhart Central. In 2022, Bender brought his Carroll squad to the Class 2A Semistate. Two years later, he returned to the “Big Barn on Bristol Street”, bringing his Mishawaka squad to its first semistate since 1955.

Now North Side Gym will be Bender’s coaching home, as he is the new boys basketball coach at Elkhart High School, pending approval at tonight’s school board meeting.

“When I spent time there under Randy, I enjoyed being there,” admitted Bender. “I just always thought if this job came open at the right time, I’d want to entertain coming back. I feel fortunate. It’s one of the top 10 schools in the state.”

A Jimtown alum with family ties in the area, Bender is 111-62 in seven seasons as a head coach. IN four years at Carroll, he built the Cougars program, posting consecutive 20-win seasons 2021 and 2022.

“I think we can get them to buy into defense,” says Bender. “The NIC is usually a conference where you play a little faster. I think the Carroll team had a style that we’ll want to us.”

He moved to Mishawaka in 2023, where he took over from retiring Hall of Famer Ron Hecklinski.  In his first two years, Bender posted consecutive 20-win seasons, something that had not been done since the legendary Marv Wood coached the Cavemen in the mid-70s.

Now Bender takes over an Elkhart program that has had only one winning season since Central and Memorial were reunified in the 2020-21 school year. Coincidentally, last year Bender’s record of 5-18 at Mishawaka was the same as Will Coatie’s at Elkhart.

As for Mishawaka, it becomes the third NLC program this off-season to look for a new coach. Wawasee hired former Tippy Valley boss Joe Luce, while Concord brought in former Jimtown coach Tyler Leighton.