Teaching Coaches The Finer Points
Wednesday - October 05, 2005
| Share
Del.icio.usKailua’s Chic Hess has been coaching basketball for more than half his life. He’s been successful at the high school and collegiate level both here in Hawaii and on the Mainland. He’s even written a book about one of the most successful coaches in basketball history, Prof Blood and the Wonder Teams, The True Story of Basketball’s First Great Coach
Through all the games and all the stories, Hess still remembers one of the first coaching clinics he ever attended.
“In 1968, I was in West Point, N.Y., sitting in the stands listening to (then-Army head coach) Bobby Knight and his young assistant coach,” recalls Hess. “That assistant coach was Mike Krzyzewski (now the legendary head coach at Duke). I remember the focus of their camp was man-to-man defense. I learned so much that I ran that same man-to-man/high pressure defense for the next eight seasons. Today, I still have my notes from that camp.”
It’s because of memories like these that Hess runs the Hawaii Basketball Coaches’ Clinic every year. This year’s clinic is scheduled for this Saturday (Oct. 8) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at Damien.
“I’m not coaching anymore, but this is a way of giving back to the game I love so much,” he says. “It’s a way to help enrich the local basketball world.”
Once again, this year’s clinic will feature outstanding speakers, including Larry Doty of Linfield College, who is flying in from Oregon. Doty, whom Hess calls “one of the best basketball speakers in the country,” will conduct three separate sessions. His topics include shot selection, beating pressure and one Doty calls “Basketball Esoterica.”
“It’s about the little secrets that only a privileged few know,” Hess says. “It’s about being clever with play calls, dealing with selfish players, setting good screens, beating traps, and all the little things that help a coach become better.”
Another featured speaker is Kelly Wells, the new head coach at Hawaii Pacific University. Wells, who played his college ball at Tulsa, developed an excellent winning reputation by coaching his small high school in Kentucky to that basketball-tradition-rich state’s championship.
“I coached nine seasons there. We won the state title once, were runner-up once, and reached the elite eight once,” he says. “We were the second smallest class (in football), but there’s only one class for all schools in Kentucky basketball.”
This is Wells’ first year at the helm of the Sea Warriors. He was the top assistant for recently retired J.D. Barnett last year.
“We’re excited to be there,” Wells says. “It’s a way for us to introduce our entire staff. We want to be an important force in Hawaii basketball.”
Wells says his topic is titled “From Kentucky to Hawaii: Drills Along The Way.” “It’s a way to showcase drills that improve individual development,” he says.
Other featured speakers include Punahou’s Alan Lum, speaking on behalf of the Positive Coaching Alliance, plus University of Hawaii assistants Bob Burke and Len Scaduto, Chaminade assistant Maurice Maggiolino, and former UH-Hilo coach Jimmy Yagi.
“I think everybody who attends will find it both informative and inspiring,” Hess says. “The cost is only $25 and registration begins that morning at 8 o’clock.”
For more information, contact Dr. Chic Hess at 263-3310 or e-mail him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS Comments (0) |
Most Recent Comment(s):
