August Hoeper had a different job assignment than usual on July 10, when Hardin-Central’s varsity girls basketball program participated in a dual practice with Orrick at Orrick High School.

Normally, Hoeper is the head Hardin-Central varsity boys coach and assistant varsity girls coach. At Orrick, however, he guided the girls because head coach Tommy Burton was unavailable.

Burton had recently become a father. “It wasn’t, really, a hard choice. … He does a lot for me, so (I was) just returning the favor,” Hoeper said of Burton, who’s also the assistant varsity boys coach.

In doing Burton a solid, Hoeper led a group that included Ester Kincaid and Kelsey Nolker. Like Hoeper, they considered the joint practice a positive experience, in part, because Hardin-Central and Orrick are evenly matched programs.

“Our teams are pretty similar – … like, we all compete very well together,” Nolker said.

Hardin-Central and Orrick are similar not only in skill level, but also in attitude, according to Kinca…