Wisdom From The Sideline- What Do You Miss?

I am hoping to do this segment- "Wisdom From The Sideline" on a regular basis. I have put together a crew of retired coaches, who were highly successful in their high school coaching career. My hope is to pose one question to them, every two weeks. 

Mike Cooper- Ottawa HS

Mike is the retired Athletic Director at Ottawa HS. He was varsity girls basketball coach for 22 years, as well as sophomore football coach for many years. He was inducted in the the IBCA HOF.

Tim Engebretson- United HS

He was varsity head football coach for many years at United HS. He also has coached basketball at different levels. His 2005 team won the Illinois State Title, and Tim is in the Illinois Football Coaches' HOF as well as the United HOF.

Mark Massey- Clinton HS

Mark was the head volleyball coach at Clinton for 38 years. His teams won 818 games, and twice took second in State. He is in the Iowa Volleyball HOF and Clinton HS HOF.

Thom Sigel- Rock Falls/Rock Island HS

Thom coached basketball for 32 years. His teams won 502 games, and he has the distinction of winning the State Title at both Rock Falls and Rock Island. Thom is in the IBCA HOF.

Dan Sullivan- Brimfield/Princeville HS

Dan coached basketball for over 30 years, being the head coach at both Brimfield and Princeville. He also was the Athletic Director at Princeville for many years. Dan gained fame in both Illinois and Wisconsin as he directed the very popular Milwaukee Bucks Camps at various locations. 

Mike Tracey- Alleman, UTHS, Moline HS

Mike coached football at Alleman, UT, and Moline for over 20 years. By most, he is considered the premier football coach in WB6 history. His teams won 140 games, and twice finished second in State. Mike is in the Alleman HS HOF and the Illinois Football HOF. He was also selected Illinois AD of the Year. 

My Question- As a recently, retired basketball coach, my first question is self-serving. Coaching is a wonderful profession, and I am sure there are many things that you found rewarding and satisfying about coaching. What are 2-3 things you miss the most about coaching?

Mike Cooper- Ottawa

I miss the camaraderie with other coaches. Some of my best friends are guys I coached against over the years. There was nothing better than going up against another quality coach and trying to out X and O them on game night. When we played teams in the Western Big 6 we had to be on the top of our game!

I miss summer basketball because that was the time we could work on both individual skills and start building team chemistry without having to worry about losing games. I think the amount of time we put in during the summer was a key to our success over the years. We tried to play teams from all over the state which made us better.

The final thing I miss is the relationship I had with my former players. Over the years I have had a number of them come back and coach with me and teach in the same building. With social media it is nice to hear from them and see how they are doing.

Tim Engebretson- United

There are many things I miss about coaching. I could probably list hundreds of things and some of them would sound kind of hokey. So I will stick with the 2 main things I miss. 

I miss working with young people. They are full of life and positive to be around. They are not as cynical as us adults and most of them have an optimistic attitude and outlook.

I also miss the camaraderie of the teachers and coaches (ones I coached with and against). Every place I worked I was lucky to be with amazing people. Not a day goes by when I don't think of something positive I gained from the people I worked with at each stop.

Mark Massey- Clinton, Ia

I miss matches. I miss the big matches & the anticipation they brought. The feeling in a match when you felt that the scouting had been spot on & the team was executing it. Obviously getting a win, beating someone that you weren’t supposed to. Inserting someone young/new into the rotation (successfully) & seeing them grow in confidence. Making adjustments during a match that your team reacts to & the opponent is unable to.

I miss team building. The off season planning & preparation. Building a team in the off season & pre season- who plays where? It's like putting together a puzzle.

Summer team camps: probably the best learning activity as a "coaching clinic" that I ever had. We would go as a team to Lincoln or Madison and the team would be coached by someone else that was a quality coach, along with a Husker or a Badger. It was a great experience for the kids and it was a great learning experience for me to observe the kids with a different coach, I could see how they handle different kids, types of drills they used, etc. We always came home so much better than we had left.

Obviously, the positive interactions with players, parents, other coaches, referees, media.

Thom Sigel- Rock Island

Getting out of coaching was a huge transition for not only me, but also our family, after the years of that lifestyle and what we all invested in support of my career.  I will say one factor that likely impacted the timing of my decision was the COVID pandemic.  I had frustrations because I felt we had a really good team with a chance to do some special things in 2021, and it was also my son’s senior season.  Getting the six week season with no State Tournament left me feeling fairly negative.  However, for the first time in 30 plus years, I was free during the summer as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas.  It seemed like a trial run for life without coaching basketball, and it surprisingly seemed nice at that point in my career to have the time for some of the experiences I may have missed because of coaching.

Sorry for going into that background, but I wasn’t as apprehensive about not coaching as I thought I might be.  Sure, it was strange in early November when the season began, but I was still comfortable with the decision.  Once the season began and games started, I began to have some of the “withdrawal” feelings I figured would come at some point. 

While I appreciated the “grind” that is part of the process when I was coaching, I realized on some days after school when I was able to go home around 3:30 that I didn’t miss the “grind” that comes with practice every day.  But I did miss being around the players and coaches every day.  I believed it was the connections we make as coaches that I was missing that first winter. 

In addition, I came to realize I really missed the aspects that come with the competition.  I missed watching film to scout opponents, putting together a game plan, getting into practice for the preparation, and ultimately competing in a big game. It was tough not having coaching as a way to fulfill my competitive nature.  Somewhat along those same lines, I soon realized I missed the big games.  I definitely didn’t miss taking up a Saturday for a long trip on a bus for a non-conference game in front of a few hundred fans.  However, it became evident I missed those big games when I attended some games and felt a little rush during the National Anthem.  It is hard to find many things that can replicate the adrenaline and nerves of listening to that song just before a big game in front of a packed gym.

Dan Sullivan- Princeville

I miss the practices and the camps.  The time before the games is the thing I miss least.  Getting young men ready to compete was very rewarding.

Mike Tracey, Alleman, UT, Moline

I miss the challenge of trying to get a large number of kids to do basically the same thing. It is a constant exploration of what works to motivate kids. Honestly, the trial and error of coaching never got old for me.    

Very few kids were self starters. Most were tough sells. I had to continually evaluate what worked with the whole while still focusing on the individual.  

It was honestly tough to explain to kids that a game that was lost could have been an overall tremendous effort. Conversely, a win could have been a cumulative sloppy effort. When teams broke through those mental barriers, success, no matter how you defined it, could follow.

Evan Massey, Galesburg

I am certainly no expert on what it is like to be a retired coach, but I already see things I really miss.

The preparation and organization in the off-season were really exciting. Watching games on TV or going to clinics, and seeing things I wanted to try to implement. And trying to anticipate how players could be used in different roles. I guess, the anticipation part was exciting.

As coaches and players you are part of a team. The interaction with other coaches and with the players is special. And I know I will really miss that feeling you have when you meet in a locker room before a game and after a game- definitely team time.

Lastly, I miss practices. Not just figuring out how to build skills but how to build the culture. 

If you have a question that you would like to submit- just put in the comments below with your name. Thanks!!