Alec Weddell Relishing New Role as Assistant Athletic Director and Coach for Tipton Schools
Writer & Photographer / Natalie Platt
Alec Weddell and sports, especially Tipton sports, are synonymous. A 2018 Tipton High School graduate who was a three-sport athlete in basketball, golf and tennis, Weddell has always been surrounded by athletics. His parents, Scott and Jill Weddell, owned and operated The Cage, a basketball and baseball complex for youth sports development, for many years. His brothers, Cam and Grayson, are also in Tipton. Cam was previously an assistant coach for the Tipton eighth-grade boys basketball team, and Grayson does broadcasting for the Tipton boys and girls basketball teams. Most recently, Grayson is working as a commentator for the Kokomo BobKats. 
Weddell was a two-time sectional champion for the basketball team, as well as a member of the All-Hoosier Athletic Conference golf team in addition to being a regional qualifier. His athletic achievements landed him on the golf team at Indiana University Kokomo, where he played all four years.
“I felt pretty prepared for college and playing on the golf team because my older brother, Cam, was also a member of the IU Kokomo golf team,” Weddell says. “He helped guide me through the first two years of my college career and helped me balance my athletics with my academics really well.”
Strong ties to Tipton and the athletic community are two of the reasons Weddell returned to his former high school to teach and coach after graduating from IU Kokomo.
“I’m five months into my new role as the assistant athletic director for Tipton Schools,” he says. “On top of that, I am the assistant varsity coach for the high school boys basketball team. I was also the head coach for our eighth-grade boys team this past season.”
Weddell now understands why coaches always want to bring out the best in kids. “Being an athlete once upon a time, and now becoming a coach, I get it,” he says. “Whether that would be getting excited for something I did well, or if I did not do something well, I now understand why coach sounded mad at me. This has really helped me understand what coaches see versus what the players do not quite understand yet.”
Weddell’s toughest part of his new job is something everyone struggles with. “It’s really difficult to please everyone,” he says. “This is how it is with almost every job, however. You will find that some people think really highly of you and then others who may see you in a different way.”
Lou Lefevre, Weddell’s high school basketball coach, and Cliff Hawkins, the current head coach, helped shape Weddell and what he wanted to do with his life. Their influence on him, combined with their opposite approaches to coaching, set the tone and foundation for Weddell’s future in athletics. “They have had a great influence on me, and I am really blessed to be involved with two of the most legendary coaches in Indiana basketball history,” he says.
Weddell’s career goal is to shape his students to be leaders. “How you interact and talk to kids is crucial for how you envision them to become down that road,” he says. “How you teach and coach them comes from experiences with those before you, and I have worked with some great leaders throughout my life that helped guide me to this point.”
Being an exemplary student-athlete is important to Weddell. He looks for his students to be leaders in the classroom and on the court or field, along with being respectful to those in the community – especially how they interact with the next generation of youth students and athletes.
The Tipton community has been lucky to land Weddell, who is committed to staying in the area.
“Being born and raised in Tipton, the love the community has for each other is something you hardly find anywhere else in the country,” he says. “We have great people here in Tipton and it was an easy decision for me to stay involved in my hometown.”
