Varsity Head Coach
mgaines@hse.k12.in.us

6 Years at Fishers

Michael Gaines is currently in his ninth season as a Varsity Girls' Basketball coach. In his first five seasons at Fishers High School he helped to guide the varsity team to a 71-44 record and a Hoosier Crossroads Conference championship in the 2007-08 season. His prior varsity coaching experience was at Shelbyville High School where he helped guide the Golden Bears to a 49-20 record in the three seasons including a 4-A Sectional Championship in the 2003-2004 season. He has also coached a variety of sports at Fountain Central, Triton Central, and Blue River Valley and co-coached the Indiana Explosion AAU basketball team for two seasons.

Coach Gaines graduated from Purdue University in 2000 with a B.A. in Social Studies Education. To supplement his Social Studies coursework, he also completed several physical education courses such as Anatomy/Physiology, Biomechanics, Exercise Physiology, and Sports Psychology. Coach Gaines continued his education and earned a Masters Degree in Education from Indiana Wesleyan University in 2009. While attending Purdue University, he worked as a member of the RIP Squad, an all-male practice team that assisted in the preparation of the Purdue Women's Basketball team, for three years including the 1999 National Championship season.

As a member of this practice team he worked under Carolyn Peck and Kristy Curry. This opportunity allowed him to practice with the 2000 U.S.A. Women's Olympic Team coached by Nell Fortner and led him to a similar position with the Indiana Fever where he has worked under Anne Donovan, Nell Fortner, and Brian Winters.

Prior to attending college, Michael graduated from Greenfield Central High School in 1996. He was a four year member of the Greenfield Cougars basketball program and played under Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Larry Angle and Calvin Bayley. His experiences at Greenfield Central were motivating influences on his decision to pursue a career in teaching and coaching. Coach Gaines currently lives in Fishers with his wife Kendra and his son Micah.

Varsity Assistant Coach

2 Years at Fishers

Gretchen Haehl is beginning her second season as the Varsity Assistant Basketball coach at Fishers High School. She also works in finance at Eli Lilly and Company. Previously, she enjoyed coaching Special Olympics and teaching basketball fundamentals to Indianapolis area youth.

Coach Haehl graduated from DePauw University in May of 2008 with degrees in Economics and Spanish. While at DePauw, she was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team and of the class that posted 111-15 school record. In her four years, DePauw won three Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season and tourney titles. In her junior year, the DePauw Tigers went on to win the 2007 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Gretchen graduated from Shelbyville High School in 2004. She and her twin sister were valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively. While at SHS, she was a four-year starter for the Varsity Golden Bears and helped them to a 3A Sectional Championship in 2003 and a 4A Sectional Championship in 2004. In 2004, Gretchen joined the Indiana All Stars to sweep Kentucky, and currently, she holds the career records for points and assists at SHS.

Varsity Assistant Coach
kcopeland@hse.k12.in.us

2 Year at Fishers

This is Keenan Copeland’s second year coaching with the Fishers High School Girls Basketball program. She has been a coach for Fishers High School Softball for four years; three years as the Junior Varsity coach and one year as the Co-Varsity Assistant.


Keenan is a 2001 Graduate of Greenfield-Central High School. During her four years at GC she was a four year member and a two year Varsity basketball player and a four year member, three year starter for Varsity softball. She has been active and involved with different sports for most of her life including competitive basketball, softball, volleyball, adult dodgeball and kickball. Keenan has worked with travel teams, coached recreational leagues, as well as assisted with informational camps.

Keenan attended IUPUI studying Exercise Science/Pre-Physical Therapy. While at IUPUI, she also became a licensed in Massage Therapist and has worked in the medical field for 8 years. Keenan is a certified Kinesio Taping Practitioner and continues to practice today. Her specialties while working in the medical field included creating rehabilitation programs and injury prevention care plans for athletes. She presently works as an Administrative Assistant at the Fishers High School Athletic Department.

Keenan credits her father, Alex, for becoming involved with high school athletics. His love and dedication motivated Keenan to pursue coaching. She resides in Fishers with her husband, Joe, and high energy dogs, Diesel and Daphne.

JV Coach
lvail@hse.k12.in.us

3 Years at Fishers

Lauren Vail is beginning her third season as the Junior Varsity Girls Basketball coach at Fishers High School. She also teaches Health and Physical Education at FHS. Prior to joining the Fishers Staff, Lauren was the Junior Varsity Girls Basketball coach at Noblesville High School for one season.

Coach Vail graduated from Anderson University in December of 2008 with a degree in Physical Education and Middle School Math. While at Anderson, she was a four-year member of the women’s basketball team. A three-year starter, Lauren earned the Raven mental attitude award three times during her career. In her senior year, the team shared a piece of the regular season Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championship. Anderson University also provided Coach Vail the opportunity to be involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and to travel to both the Grand Cayman Islands and London to teach Vacation Bible School.

Lauren is a 2004 graduate of Greenfield-Central High School. While at GC, she was a four -year member and three-year starter of both the cougar varsity volleyball and basketball teams. She also participated two years in softball and one season in track, as well as several clubs and organizations.

Coach Vail is the daughter of Mark and Ann Vail. Both of her parents are educators and have been head coaches. She credits them with her interest in pursuing, as well as her love for, teaching and coaching.

Freshman Head Coach
dsimms@hse.k12.in.us

4 Years at Fishers

Coach Simms begins his fourth season as the head freshman girls’ basketball coach. In his previous seasons, Simms has guided his teams to a 41-11 overall record including a 17-2 record in 2009-2010. His team won the Hamilton County Tournament in 2008-2009 while going 11-5.

He is also the varsity assistant baseball coach at FHS and helped guide the team last year to a 19-13 season. Before being a varsity coach, Simms was the junior varsity baseball team for four seasons where he was 66-32, including a 20-4 record in 2009-2010. Simms has also coached a Special Olympics basketball team winning the state title in 2007.

Simms is a 2002 graduate of Taylor High School where he was an honor athlete for receiving ten varsity letters in baseball, basketball and football. He was chosen as the male recipient for the Howard County Student-Athlete of the Year in 2002. In baseball, he was a member of the 2000 state baseball team and received All-Area and All-Conference awards. In football, he was All-State Honorable Mention, 1st team All-Area and 1st team All-Conference. In basketball, he was on teams that won the county title, a conference title, two sectional titles, and one regional title.

He continued his baseball career by playing at Anderson University for three years. Prior to being sidelined because of numerous injuries, Simms was a part of the baseball team that finished 3rd in the nation at the 2003 NCAA Division III National Championship.

Simms graduated from Anderson University in December of 2008 with a degree in Physical Education and Health. Simms is in the process of getting his Master's in Curriculum and Instruction at Western Governors University. Currently, he is a Physical Educator at Fall Creek Intermediate and is married to his wife, Kayla.