Varsity Kansas - The Blog

by joanna

I couldn’t believe it when I got the call that Burt Helmer was returning to coach boys basketball, this time at Circle. He’s before my time (he finished at Southeast in 1990, I started in the fall of 1996), but I knew who he was. I’d heard about him and his son, Mike, was always one of my favorite coaches to deal with.

I do understand why Helmer’s getting back into coaching, though, because I really don’t think that passion ever dies. I’ve always thought coaches are wired a bit differently than the rest of us. The good ones are constantly looking for new ways to win, new ways to get the most out of their athletes. Then again, maybe that’s not so differently than any other person who’s got a passion for something.

Circle’s certainly fortunate to get a coach like Helmer, though. It should be fun to watch.

by joanna

Well, I posted this not too long ago, but it seems to have disappeared, so here we go again.

South has hired Ty White, 45, as its boys basketball coach. White spent the past two seasons as a South assistant and was a volunteer assistant for one year at Southeast.

He’s one of three new coaches for next season — North and Northwest also hired new coaches — who won’t have it easy. North won three games last year, Northwest nine. I would guess they’ll continue to struggle this season. As for South, the Titans won 15 games but lost two of the City League’s top players in Marky Nolen and Lance Russell.

Your thoughts?

by joanna

Gary Squires, an assistant at North the past two seasons, has been named the new coach. He replaces Ben Mitchell, who coached three seasons at North.

Squires is no stranger to coaching. He’s been a head coach in the City League — he was at Carroll from 1980-84 and went 30-51, he was at Kapaun from 1990-92 and was 15-29. He’s also coached at Conway Springs, Iola and Kansas City Turner.

He doesn’t have an easy road turning this program around as North was 3-18 last year and has one winning record in the past five seasons.

As for the South job, I talked to athletic director Michelle Kuhns who said she’d announce that boys job on Monday.

by joanna

I went to the City League track meet (purely as a spectator), where did you go? I want updates, people. I’m not in the office, so I don’t know what happened at the AV-CTL Division I meet or any other track meets. I don’t know who won the Maize-Northwest baseball or softball game. Tell me!

I was at the CL track meet for about two hours, watching only the prelims. I was hanging with my three boys, getting some water at the concession stand when a woman said, “So you’re not being a sportswriter, but you’re watching kids?” I know she was just looking to start a conversation. Really, I do. But I do have another job — it’s actually my main job — as a mom. So I wasn’t watching kids, I was being a mom.

Anyway, I love to watch track meets. They’re so laid back, there’s always action and the athletes are in the stands. Where else does that happen? And the coaches are laid back, too. I always tease Southeast boys coach Carl Taylor about the fact that he doesn’t smile much during basketball season — I tease because I can and it’s fun and he gets annoyed with me (hee, hee) — anyway, at track, he’s just out there chillin’, eating his burger and talking.

Saw Steve Eck out at the track meet. He was there watching East’s Jawanza Poland in the hurdles. Poland is going to Cowley. Eck and I had a conversation - the longest we’ve ever had — and I find out he’s a reader of this blog. Of course the conversation turned to whether he recruited at South or not. Frankly, I’m bored with all this recruiting talk on this blog and around. Someone, anyone, prove it to me, talk to me on the record, don’t worry about burning bridges and talk to me about it. Give me a parent or a former athlete who will talk about it, then we can have a serious discussion about it. Anyway, it was nice seeing Eck there. I’m sure that I’ll see him a lot more during basketball season.

I watched the hurdles prelims and two girls took hard falls during their races, one from Heights, one from South. What impressed me so much was that not only did they get up and finish their races, they busted their tails and finished strong and were some of the top finishers. As I told my sons, those are tough kids whose whole goal is to succeed. Impressive.

Saw Southeast’s Keith Hayes run the hurdles for the first time. Wow, the guy is just so smooth and he looks like he’s jumping over those hurdles like I would jump over a piece of paper on the ground. He and Heights sprinter Audacia Moore just blew away their competition in the prelims. They’ve got skills. I know, I’m the first to see it.

As I was leaving, I talked to Carl Taylor, who just so happens to be one of my mom’s favorite coaches. My mom is hilarious because she could be watching a 9 year old team playing and not know a single kid on the team and still cheer and clap and get upset at a bad call. But she loves Taylor. I’m a big fan, too.

Here’s one reason why — he said he doesn’t read the blog (WHAT!) but had gone on to read what was on about “why athletes don’t qualify” or whatever I titled it. He said I shouldn’t have mentioned Adonis Gantt, because then it made it personal. On one level I disagree with him because I said with all the discussion of Gantt not qualifying, it was a good time to vett the issue. But I do agree with him that it put the spotlight on Gantt, in what I consider an innocent way because this is what we do in this business — we write about what is timely and show how it is timely. On the other hand, I think it’s a good conversation regardless of whether I mention a specific player — or timeliness.

On to where I wasn’t — I see that 6A tennis semis will be dominated by the KC area. Again. Goddard does have a doubles team in, though. 5A isn’t looking good for the area, either. Only a McPherson doubles team and Hutchinson doubles team are our closest area competitors still in it. 4A has Smoky Valley’s Chase Dippel, then there’s a Hesston, and Andover Central doubles teams.

3-2-1A is a different story. Ryan Norman, Independent will play Mitchell Kibbe, Conway  Springs and Collegiate and Conway Springs face each other in both doubles semifinals. Hello.

All right, enough about where I was and what I was interested in. Where were you? What did you do?

Were you cleaning for that graduation party or did you get out on this beautiful night and see some competition? Or are you sitting here right now like me and watching the NBA (I feel pitiful)

by joanna

It didn’t take Northwest long to find a replacement for boys basketball coach Eric Hofer-Holdeman, who resigned after the season. That’s probably because Northwest didn’t have to look too far.

Athletic director J. Means said this morning that assistant Chris Collins is the Grizzlies’ new coach.

I personally like the hire. Chris is a good guy — he used to work at The Eagle back in the day — and he seems to have a similar manner as Holdeman. Pretty laid back.

When I talked to J. Means, I asked him about a couple rumors that I want to put to rest now. The first is, Northwest girls coach Jerrod Handy didn’t apply for the job. Means said that he heard the rumor so much from interested coaches who were wondering if they should even apply, so he went to Handy to ask him if he was applying. Nope.

The second rumor is concerning Jerry Gerber, who didn’t apply for the job, either. Gerber, a longtime coach at Garden Plain, was Handy’s assistant this past season. When I heard the rumor he was applying, I didn’t believe it. I mean why would Gerber come back and be a head coach at a much larger school than he’d been at previously? It just didn’t make sense.

by joanna

You’ve probably heard by now that Stan Pulliam, the former basketball coach of Campus and Valley Center, has died — here’s Jonathan’s story. His son, Kip, is the Heights girls coach. He was 65.

There’s been so many coaches and family members of coaches die recently — Hanston football coach Jerry Slaton, the father-in-law of Southeast athletic director and track coach Mark Lamb, the father of Collegiate tennis coach Dave Hawley, now Stan Pulliam.

Please accept my condolences to all who have lost a loved one.

by joanna

Just read that Olathe South coach Mark Littrell has resigned and is going to be an assistant under former Olathe North coach Gene Wier in Texas.

I know this doesn’t affect anyone around here — but as one poster noted, we are varsityKANSAS — but I really liked Mark. He’s a nice guy, always enjoyable to talk to and he was great about sending info to The Eagle on his team and players. He coached 26 years at Olathe South, so Kansas will be losing a good coach.

Any other coaching changes out there?

by joanna

I loved lovebball’s comment on the parents vs. coaches threat. I absolutely loved it. You took this discussion to another level and that’s what I am dying for this blog to become. No haters, just good dialogue.

I can totally see your point on how there are coaches who are a bit clueless, who aren’t that passionate about the game, that aren’t in tune with their players. There are coaches that might not need to be out there at all, that they’re actually hurting their kids because they aren’t as involved as they should be.

Great job on the post.

I do believe that I get caught up in the coaches side of it because I do see the hours that so many of them put in, I see the money they spend out of their own pocket, I see the caring they show to the kid who’s coming from a crappy home life and how they’re helping that kid deal with such huge issues outside of sports. Contrast that directly with the parents that I see at games — the ones screaming at kids, dogging the coaches, the ones who feel entitled to their kid getting playing time because they fund-raise for the program. I feel disgust for those parents. There have been years where I dread going to specific schools because I know that I’ll only hear negative comments from the crowd, that I’d see a parent sit directly behind the bench and rip the coach, where I’d see a parent try to coach their kid as they dribble up the floor — the kid is looking into the stands at that parent.

But you’re right, there are the wonderful parents who are putting a whole lot of money into their kids’ activities, who are spending so much time at their games and supporting those kids. They want their children to be nurtured and taught and coached in the right manner. Those expectations are normal.

I guess what I would still suggest is let those coaches coach. Sometimes coaches don’t connect just right with a player, that’s true. But I feel most have good intentions.

Thanks, lovebball for the post. Any others out there?

by joanna

There aren’t many compliments in this journalism business, although there’s probably more in sports simply because parents like to see stories on their children. But really the only time you hear from readers is if you have done something wrong.

Sometimes I’ll talk to coaches about the latest complaint I hear, yet I always preface it by saying that I know they get it about a 1,000 times worse than I do. Very few compliments, way too many complaints. It’s then that I remind myself that my life isn’t all that bad.

I wonder sometimes if coaches can do anything right. Here they are giving way too much of their time for pennies on the dollar, driving kids to and from events or back home because their parents can’t do it. I’ve seen coaches making sure a kid has something to eat, driving across town to help a kid get to an appointment. Do they get thanks? Sometimes.

More often, they just hear complaints.

I know, parents love their kids, they want to see them succeed, they want them to feel good about themselves. But why berate the coach over such trivial things? What makes a parent feel that it’s OK to ream a coach over playing time? If not ream, is it still OK to even question it?

Too often parents are out there trying to protect their offspring — great, in a dangerous situation — but unless your child is in danger, is being abused, back off. Let them succeed, let them fail. That’s life. Why is it necessary to be vile to a coach or pull your kid out and move because you’re worried about playing time?

Yes, as I’ve mentioned, there are issues where abuse is occurring. That’s sad. It should stop. Parents should get involved.

But playing time isn’t a huge issue. I know I keep focusing on this, but I’m blown away by how many times coaches tell me they’re hearing complaints about this. I hear that it’s political at a certain school. And it makes me laugh. I know so many coaches, and I have not met one yet — especially in football and basketball — who’s burning desire is to lose. Seriously, coaches play the best kids, unless they break the rules. I think the only time where subjectivity comes into play is when coaches are looking at who to keep as the No. 12 player in basketball, for example. Maybe there’s a kid who works hard, has a great attitude and then there’s a kid who’s doing crappy in school and will be an eligibility issue or he’s just a little you know what. Who do they keep? The good kid, of course.

Parents need to back off, they do. Let your kids fight their battles, let them prove themselves on the field, let them figure out how to handle a difficult situation with a coach — it will help them later in life. Be there for guidance, be there for support, be there to encourage. Sadly, it’s at all levels. I have a 5-year-old playing soccer and there’s a father who is pressuring his kid to play and this kid does not want to be out there. The father is so hard on this kid. 5 years old! It sickens me. It really does.

Hey, I’ve been in a tough spot. As a senior in high school I was told by my volleyball coach that she was going to have a youth movement; she had too many seniors. She said I’d made the team, but I would never play, except maybe to serve. I found that unacceptable, I met with my parents, told them how I felt and then I told her. Should I have quit? Probably not. Of course she wanted to win and sure enough, she went with her seniors as the year went on. I probably would have played. But you know what? My parents stayed out of it. I handled it. I respect them to this day for that.

I do know exactly what kind of parent I’ll be, though. I have no intention of being like the vast majority that I see — screaming at the coach, yelling at their kid to get his head out of his behind, talking bad about their kids’ teammates, questioning every move the coach makes. I won’t be silent — Lord knows I love to talk during my son’s games already, telling him to hustle and telling him good job and way to go team. But I don’t criticize. Leave that to the coach.

I’m off my high horse, now. Your thoughts?

by joanna

I just did my second coach resignation in as many days. Do these come in threes? Yesterday it was Derby girls basketball coach Bill Shaw calling it quits, although he’s coaching baseball through next season.

Today it was Northwest boys coach Eric Hofer-Holdeman. He coached the Grizzlies for 8 years and won the 6A title in 2006. He’s definitely one of my favorite coaches to deal with. He’s extremely mild-mannered and I have teased him — in print — over the years that he has the loudest clap I’ve ever heard. He used that clap and he whistled loudly to get his players attention, rarely yelling.

He obviously was a good coach, but I just liked him because he was a good man. He was enjoyable to chat with, for a story or not, and I’ll miss him. But he’s got good reasons for leaving, including spending more time with his family. You know, coaches take so much crap for people through the season — players, parents, media — more than we’ll ever know. They spend hours and hours preparing or coaching or driving kids home. And they’re certainly not well-compensated, not that they’re doing it for the money, that’s for sure. I’d say they earn pennies for every hour they coach.

Yet Hofer-Holdeman always handled things with class. I like that. I’m sure he’ll enjoy spending more time with his kids and his wife. That’s important, too.