Appreciation for old coaches

I've always had an affinity for old basketball coaches. Maybe I'm just showing my age here.

But there's no denying the treasure troves of basketball knowledge that lie between the graying temples of the savvy, wily veteran coaches. And I could listen for hours to the stories they could tell.

Some are kindly gents and some are crusty curmudgeons. I happen to like both.

Yes, there are a lot of brilliant young coaches today. I'd bet more than a few of them have been mentored by the "Old Masters."

I'm sure Joey Hart has gleaned a thing or two from his father, Joe.

Being a sportswriter for the Greene County Daily World has afforded me the opportunity to get reacquainted with some of the old coaches who are still in the area - guys like Ron McBride, Steve Brett, and Roger Weaver.

Ron McBride and I go way back to 1971, when Ron was the eighth grade basketball coach at Bloomfield and I played on Les Newman's eighth grade team at Linton. I've enjoyed chatting with Ron at the Bloomfield games I've been to this year.

Roger Weaver is still coaching, as a volunteer assistant with the White River Valley High School girls basketball team.

Roger was my seventh grade coach at Linton.

I still think the Weaver offense we ran is one of the most effective offenses I've seen.

Coach Weaver's Switz City Central Tigers won the 1973 Switz City Sectional with that offense - and a guy named Rusty Miller.

Even the best coaches need good players.

I've heard it said of some older coaches, "Old so-and-so, the game has passed him by."

Sometimes it's true that a guy is too stubborn to adjust. But sometimes there simply isn't enough talent on the roster.

If a coach has a proven system that works and is a master at teaching the game and developing players, those are timeless qualities and a winning formula.

I've always been skeptical of the term "players' coach." Maybe it's because all the coaches I played for were disciplinarians. They expected discipline and performance. They weren't there to be your buddy.

Perhaps my favorite old coach is the late Guy Glover.

I always liked Mr. Glover, a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. And I liked his Bloomfield Cardinal teams. I can remember some really good Bloomfield teams from the sixties and early seventies.

Some might want to crucify me for this, but back then I rooted just as hard for Bloomfield as I did for Linton. Except of course when Bloomfield played Linton.

Since the Pleasantville gym restoration story appeared, I've gotten a trickle of e-mails from old coaches, some of whom are in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.

One of those Hall of Famers, of course, is former Linton coach Jim Callane. Some of you will remember I played for coach Callane at Linton.

Coach and I have stayed in contact over the years. The truth is, we probably get along better now than we did then. I wasn't the most coachable player he ever had.

Another old coach I heard from is former Barr-Reeve coach Joe Todrank.

Coach Todrank actually had two stints at Barr-Reeve, from 1967-71 and 1976-84 with a combined record of 196-140. Between those two stints Joe coached at Southridge. And before he coached at Barr-Reeve, Todrank coached at Monroe City, which is now part of South Knox.

The Monroe City Blue Jeans - now that's going back a ways!

I received an e-mail from Joe the other day. He'd read the Pleasantville article, seen the name Schwinghammer and wondered if I was any kin to Ally Schwinghammer.

I responded, "Joe, I'm Ally's boy."

Joe Todrank is a 1956 graduate of Holland High School in Dubois County, where he played for the Holland Dutchmen. My dad graduated from Holland six years earlier and played ball there.

If Joe ever saw me, he'd know.

I'm not half the man my daddy was, but I sure do look like him.

Further proof that you can't judge a book by its cover.

One of these days I'd like to meet some more of these old coaches and hear their stories. Maybe I'll finagle my way into some of their golf outings next summer.

Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.