My first years as coach

I didn’t really start out to become a coach. In fact, I thought all coaches had been athletes, or at the very least had played often on a school team. I was on a couple of teams, but only because the coaches didn’t cut the squad. I may have been the worst person to pretend to be an athlete.

We had no program, or even a gym, in the school I attended through 8^th grade. When I was a freshman, I tried out for basketball. My cousin and I were attending school in Sterling while living with another family. They weren’t too pleased that we participated as it meant late dinners.

 The only reason I made the roster had to be my size. Although only 13 when the basketball season started, I was well over 6 feet tall and so clumsy I would often trip over my own size 13 shoes. I was so uncoordinated that I couldn’t do the basic drills like jumping rope. This lack of ability left me watching as others practiced. This was to become an advantage when I coached because I learned how the offense and defense worked while watching from the seats.

On Fridays, we shot free throws to see who would dress for the away games the following week. Although I got pretty good at free throws, I never got to practice on Fridays, as I had to return home for the weekend. Except one Friday we stayed over as our parents were coming to Sterling on Saturday. I made the traveling squad for the next week. The details about what happened are a later story.

I left Sterling at the end of the year to attend my local high school. That winter, my old grade school decided to start a basketball team. They still didn’t have a gym, so they rented one. Somehow I ended up being a volunteer student coach. I was terrible and the only thing I learned was to not nervously dribble the basketball while trying to talk to the players.

Fast forward to my first and only teaching job at Albany Grade School. I wasn’t a coach when I started. I did enjoy sports and did go to all the basketball games to keep “the book”. Each team had its own score book, and the home team book was the “official” score-book for the game. The official score-book is the true record of the game, regardless what the scoreboard said, but that’s another story too.

After my stint in the Army, I returned to teaching. My fellow teacher, Denny, had decided to retire from coaching basketball and track. With my buddy, Gerry, moving to Denny’s former job, a position was open for a basketball and track coach. I knew little about basketball and nothing about track. Still, back in those days, the only qualification for coaching was a somewhat steady heartbeat, and ability to keep track of the keys.

My first basketball team was absolutely amazing. In our conference grades 5 and 6 formed one level and grades 7 and 8 the other. We had a gym available after school at Garden Plain, so I had to drive the team there in order to practice. The story of me and the bus was posted earlier.

The GP gym allowed for a great teamwork to develop. Free from other staff and older students, we learned together. I didn’t cut the squad and made sure that every practice there was floor time for all players. I also made sure everyone participated in drills to help develop those with less athletic ability.

This first team was did well despite my lack of experience. We  won the conference and finished second in the conference tournament. 

The next season was the most successful of any team I coached. We went undefeated through 12 regular season games. When it became time for the conference tournament, we were seated first. We finished the season undefeated with a 14-0 record and both the conference and tournament trophies.

Even at such a young age, the quality of people I coached was evident. They were great sports and very kind to each other including those who were not yet great players. They were also very competitive, and worked hard at practice and at home. Their grades were never an issue. After coaching those kids, I was hooked on being a coach.

I coached for several more years, and added coaching girls. Gerry taught me how to prepare for practice and games and how to win. We had a great partnership. I will relate a few more coaching stories in later posts.