Favorite Gyms- Ranked by Coaches, Players, Fans

There are many great high school gyms in Illinois. Every coach, every player, and every fan probably believes they have the best gym in Illinois. 

In my idle time, I got to thinking about some of my all-time favorite gyms. I haven't been to all of the gyms in Illinois, but in 50 years of coaching I did see a lot of the gyms. As I began to make my list, it made me wonder what other coaches, players, and fans would consider as their best gyms. As I got back other people's lists of "best gyms," it became apparent that people's "best gyms" aren't just about the actual buildings but also about the memories coaches, players and fans have connected to the gyms. I asked Thom Sigel, Mike Reynolds, Barry Swanson, Ryan Webber, Bob Anderson, Jason Shay, Joey Range, Sean Hanlon, Jay Redfern, Amy Massey, Mark Massey, Amanda Gunther-Egli, Andie Allison-Leibach, Sara Wood, Chad Thompson, Lexi Demott, Kelsi Legge, Jenna Bicego-Wesselhoeft, Mark Harden Jr, Mike Cooper, Jay Hatch, and Megan Young.

Evelyn Meredith- The Coach’s Wife

There are a lot of people needed to make a successful basketball team- players, coaches, managers, parents of players, and fans. Perhaps one of the most important people are the coach's spouses. 

When I first started coaching at Galesburg, ROVA boys basketball always had great teams. Bob Meredith was the coach at ROVA for decades, and they were always successful. He was someone admired by coaches in the area. He was admired for not only his coaching ability but for being someone who was a class act. He and his players always represented ROVA in a positive manner. 

Bob's wife, Evelyn was part of the operation. She did many "little things" that were actually "big things" that contributed to the ROVA program. Being a coaches wife requires many things- knowing when and how to counsel, juggling the family schedule, and being the ultimate supporter. Evelyn did so much as a coach's wife. I was excited to ask her some questions about being a coach's spouse. 

Streaks Scrapbook- 1957 Boys Elite 8

1957- Boys-Elite 8     

23-7                         

(State Rank-Unranked)

To understand the 1957 Silver Streaks, and more importantly to understand their significance, one needs to take a step back and look Illinois and Galesburg during this period of time. Galesburg was founded by George Washington Gale, a Presbyterian minister, who was a strong abolitionists. Galesburg has a rich and proud history connected with anti-slavery and the Underground Railroad. There is a huge difference between people being anti-slavery and people being for racial equality. By 1957 Galesburg was like many rural communities, still struggling with the concept of racial equality. 

By the year 1950, only 2 African-Americans had ever been allowed to play for the Galesburg High School basketball team. The story is told by older African-Americans of the excitement of an all-black intramural team in the 1940’s beating the Silver Streak varsity team in an arranged game. Pete Thierry, a 1953 grad, became only the third African-American allowed to play for GHS. 

Friday Fotos- 1957 Albert & Elbert Kimbrough

Kimbroughs with legendary, Coach CC VanDyke

Albert and Elbert Kimbrough were 1957 graduates of GHS, and are considered by many to have been the greatest athletes in Silver Streaks history. 

The Kimbroughs were the stars of the 1956 football team that went undefeated and is considered the best football team in GHS history. Albert set the school record of 295 points scored in a season, 45 career touchdowns, and averaging 9.0 yards per carry during his career. While Albert got the glory carrying the ball, Elbert was his blocking fullback. Both were the stars of the defense.

Strategy- 1957 Streaks 23 vs Rock Island 21

Throughout the history of the game of basketball, coaches have wanted to use a strategy of “stalling” or “delaying” if they were to get a lead. According to the book, The Real Hoosiers, in the 1930’s it was not unusual for a team to have the lead at the beginning of the second half and hold the ball for the entire second half. 

One of the most famous delay tactics was used by Dean Smith at North Carolina in 1977. Phil Ford used the “four corners” office when Carolina got the lead. With “four corners,” Ford handled the ball with each of his teammates in one of the corners of the half-court. Ford would dribble and eventually pass to a teammate. After he passed, he would run and get it back. Shortly after this strategy was developed, rule makers introduced the shot clock.

Old School Coaches- Locker Room Motivation

I am hoping to do this segment- "Old School Coaches" 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 post one question to them every two weeks. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

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.

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association 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.

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. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

My Question

What quotes, sayings, or motivational messages would you want to put up in your locker room?

College, WNBA, NBA Coaches- Experience Needed To Get Hired

I decided to take a look at the experience level of the coaches in NBA, WNBA, Women’s Big Ten, and Men’s Big Ten. I realize there are different factors that determine the success of coaches, but experience is definitively one of the factors that may predict success. In addition, maybe the amount of experience in the coaches indicates the seriousness of a school or professional organization. 

The following stats are all looking at the present coaches of each of these teams, and what there experience was when they were first hired by this team. For example, Gregg Popovich has been head coach of the Spurs since 1996, but I am looking at what his experience was when he was hired for that position.

Total Years of Experience When First Hired

Women’s Big 10 Coaches.    19.9 years

Men’s Big 10 Coaches.         19.8 years

NBA Coaches.                     15.8 years

WNBA Coaches.                   13.8 years

Galesburg JH Tips Off

The Galesburg JH Girls Basketball teams will get started with their seasons this week. There schedule for the first two weeks looks like this:

Sept 23- Mon- At Orion     5:30/6:30pm  (7th listed first, 8th listed second)

Sept 25- Wed- At Sherrard  5:30/6:30pm

Sept 26- Thu- At Canton     5:00/6:00pm

Sept 30- Mon- Costa (Home)  5:00/6:00pm  (Home games at Wicall Gym)

Oct 1- Tue- Sherrard (Home)  5:30/6:30pm

Oct 3- Thu- Farmington (Home)  5:00/6:00pm

Entire 7th Grade Schedule- 7th Grade Schedule

Entire 8th Grade Schedule- 8th Grade Schedule

Strategy- Fever Offense

This is some simple things the Fever run at the end of transition. 

#0= Mitchell

#1= Smith

#7= Boston

#10= Hull

#22= Clark

Streaks Scrapbook- 1996 Girls 3rd in State

1996- Third in State   

29-6   (State Rank #14)

The success the Streaks had in 1996 started with the 1994 season. Sara Wood and Ami Pendry were the starting guards as sophomores on the 1994 team, who was upset in the Galesburg Sectional by IVC. Then in 1995, Sara Wood (Jr) and Molly Watson (So) started along with seniors Bonny Apsey, Stef Mitchell, and Gina Miller. The ‘95 Streaks made it to the Super-Sectional before losing to Normal Community. 

The 1995 team may have been one of the all-time best teams with senior scoring stars- Bonny Apsey and Stef Mitchell. There was a real sense that 1995 was the Streak’s chance to go to Redbird Arena. So initially, there was a sense that the 1996 team would not be as good. 

Friday Foto- 1996 “Tough Guys”

Wood, Bulkeley, Watson, Pendry

I found this picture and showed it to my wife. I said to her, “Look at this, they are trying to be tough guys.” 

My wife without hesitation replied, “Well, they were tough guys.”

Sara Wood, Jennifer Bulkeley, Molly Watson, and Ami Pendry had all been starters or the first off the bench on the 1995 team that advanced to the Super-Sectional. They became the heart of the 1996 team that finished third in State. Indeed, they were “tough guys.” They were talented and competed in everything they did. 

All four had great college basketball careers- Wood (Kirkwood and Kansas Benedictine), Bulkeley (U. Of the South), Watson (DePaul), and Pendry (CSC, Wayne State). Wood and Pendry’s Juco teams placed in the National tourney. 

Strategy- 1996 Numbered Break

Basketball minds can debate the best way to teach a fastbreak system, and debate what the best system to run as a fastbreak. Today there are coaches who are successful instructing the rebounder to push the ball and don’t outlet the rebound. Others are more traditional and have the team outlet the ball to any guard on the wing, then fill the lane on the side you are. There are many different ways to fastbreak. 

At Galesburg, we started running what is called a “numbered fastbreak” in the Summer of 1985, and we stuck with it thru my retirement in 2024. For our program, the numbered break was center to everything we did offensively. What made me put in the “numbered break” to start with?

Thom Sigel- FCA for Coaches

Thom Sigel, the retired basketball coach at Rock Island, has always been one of good guys in coaching. He is intense and highly competitive, but he also showed himself to be a man of principles. Sports are in schools to teach important life lessons to young people. Thom used sports to teach important life values. 

Thom is a religious man. He has been involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athlete's Coaching Huddle for over twenty years. I hope to do two blog posts centered on the FCA Coach Huddle. The first part is this post, with Thom describing what the group is, how it has impacted him, and how coaches could get involved. Later, I plan to do a post where 4-5 coaches in the group share how their faith has impacted their coaching. 

Massey- When did the FCA Coaches' Huddle start up? How long have you been attending the FCA Coaches' Huddle?

 

Sigel- I am not actually sure exactly if the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Coaches' Huddle started before I was involved, or it was about the same time.  I have been attending since around 2002 or 2003.   

Massey- How did FCA Coaches' Huddle get started?

Sigel- Tim Schneckloth was the Director  of the Illowa FCA and started the coaches huddles on Thursday mornings.  It started out small, with usually only 5-6 attending, and the location moved around a few times.  The state split with Dan Pearson in charge of the Northwest Illinois FCA, and I joined the 3 Rivers FCA segment of his area, I also began helping Dave Anderson organize the continuation of our Coaches Huddle.

Massey- How many are involved and is it all face to face meetings?

Sigel- We have had a small core continue to meet, but we have been able to grow with the use of Zoom.  We meet Thursday mornings 6:30-7:15, but this year we are adding some Sunday evening Zoom meetings and social events to reach out to more coaches.  Some coaches are able to meet with us for breakfast in Milan, but about half use the Zoom link to join in either at home or from work.  We have grown to about 10-15 each week with retired coaches as well as coaches from Geneseo, Rock Island, Erie, Bureau Valley, Sterling Newman, and Pontiac. 

Massey- Is this group open to new members?

Sigel- We continue to reach out to more coaches who wish to be involved.  We would love to have women coaches and those from outside the QC who are interested, reach out to join in.  

Massey- What do the meetings mean to you personally?

Sigel- I know many of us over the years have felt that starting out our Thursday mornings with our meetings is rejuvenating.  Personally, even though it is busy when in-season, those Thursday mornings were even more beneficial. I made sure to get up and be there every week. 

Massey- Our your meetings structured with something like lesson plans?

Sigel- While we find materials to base the meetings on, I think we all appreciate the discussions, stories that we share, and the laughs we have when we get a little off topic.  This year we will spend a few weeks in the new version of the FCA Coaches' Handbook.  I feel like the many resources over the years have helped me stay grounded and grow as a coach and as a Christian.  There have been numerous times I wish I would have been exposed to topics we cover when I was a young coach.

Massey- If a coach is interested, how would they go about getting involved in the group?

Sigel- The easiest way coaches who have an interest in the 3 Rivers FCA Coaches Huddle is to email me at tsigel@fca.org .  I can email them more details and make sure I add them to our email list so they can get the Zoom links and any materials I send out.

Massey- I appreciate Thom sharing information about the FCA Coaches' Huddle. I will be doing a follow-up post where some of the individual coaches will talk about their experiences with the group and about how their faith has impacted their coaching. 

Title IX- Friday Nights

According to reports, Quincy parents are unhappy with QHS’s compliance to Title IX. From what I have seen on social media, their unhappiness centers around the facilities- the lockeroom and the gym. When I first saw this information, my reaction was that it wasn’t my issue, it’s Quincy’s problem. Then someone shared with me that the parents had a longer list of concerns, including the girls not playing on Friday nights. 

Now I was invested in what was going on- Quincy parents could impact the Galesburg basketball program. We feel Galesburg and the Galesburg school district has built up a program which allows our girls basketball players to feel special and celebrated. Thursday nights have been our night, and our community comes out in huge numbers to cheer on our girls. 

It was mentioned that they wanted girl/boy doubleheaders. It really bothered me that maybe some people who have done little, if any research, would dictate to other schools how the programs should be run. 

Coach Biddle- A Big Thank You

Josh Biddle started coaching JH boys basketball at Lombard about 20 years ago. During his career, he has also coached JH track and HS softball. He started coaching JH girls basketball in 2014-5, and coached both girls and boys JH basketball for three years. Then for the next five years he coached both JH girls and HS freshmen girls basketball. So for 8 years, he coached two different basketball teams. He has stepped down this year from his position as 9th grade girls coach. 

Josh is a tremendous teacher. He didn’t just do drills, he used drills as a way to teach. He made the players aware of important details. He was a master of teaching fundamentals.  

Basketball was Josh’s classroom. He always was looking for new ways to teach a skill. On the varsity level, we were using the “Biddle Dribbling Drill,” the “Biddle Shooting Drill,” and other drills that Coach Biddle developed. But not only did he develop drills, he was a master at stopping drills and pointing out the little details that needed to be perfected. 

Evan Massey and The Fever- My Take

The WNBA is about to wrap up their season, and head into the play-offs. It has been an exciting season. Before this season, there were many girls basketball fans (followed their HS teams or college teams), who did not really follow the WNBA. Even the most enthusiastic girls basketball fan probably could not have named more than 3-4 WNBA teams and their nicknames. Today many of these people have taken the WNBA under their personal umbrella of “girls basketball.”

There are many Caitlyn Clark fans, who have now become WNBA fans. And there are some who were more just men’s basketball fans, who have now become WNBA fans. How many new fans “girls basketball” has gotten, I am not sure. But it is obvious there are considerably more eyes and maybe more hearts rooting for WNBA teams, who also will become “girls basketball” fans in general. Here’s hoping the interest in HS girls basketball will see a bounce in both spectators and participation.

Streaks Scrapbook- Boys 1956 Sweet Sixteen

Boys  1956-     Sweet 16        26-3      (State Rank #3)

Galesburg was coming off an Elite 8 appearance in 1955. The Streaks had lost to Elgin in the Elite 8 game in OT 66-60. Obviously coming this close had to fuel the 1956 team, plus they returned arguably the top three from the 1955 team. Guards Mike Owens and Russ Lind along with post player Bill Graning returned for their senior year. Years later, Owens commented on the '56 season, "We thought we were going to be pretty good, but we were much better than I thought we were going to be."

While the '56 Streaks returned three of their best players, they lost their coach. Coach Frank Adams moved practically across the street from the old GHS to coach at Knox College. The transition was easier than you might predict because assistant Coach John Thiel took over. As assistant coach, the players were very familiar with Thiel. 

Streaks Photos- Alums Giving Back

Molly Watson 

In a successful program, you hope current players have been inspired by past players. Maybe they attended games as young grade school students, and picked out players who they wanted to be like. Successful players can serve as an inspiration and help young girls dream. 

Sara Wood

Too often in the past, young girls did not have as many role models in sports as young boys may have had. That is why it is so important for parents to take their daughters to HS games to help inspire them. 

We have been fortunate that not only has GHS had great players and great role models for the young girls in Galesburg, but we have former players who are willing to come back to share their stories with HS players. 

Costa grads- Antonia, Molly, Julia

These pictures are from several summers ago, of Sara Wood and Molly Watson coming back to talk to the varsity players about their basketball careers and about their lives today. Nothing better than to have players be inspired by young women who were successful as players at GHS, and are successful in life. 

Strategy- 1996 Pressure Basketball

In 1994-5 season, we had a very talented team, and we had not only size but we had talented “bigs.” We started a 6’1” all-state post who was our leading scorer, the other post was 5’10”, and we came off the bench with 5’9” and 5’11” post players. We tried to run but were more than happy to settle to run half-court offense. We pressed some, but often just played half-court man to man. I would describe us as a team who “wanted to run and press,” but we were not “committed to being a running and pressing” team.

Our 1995-6 team did not have size. Our three best players were our 5’3”, 5’4”, and 5’5” guards. They were quick and were great ball handlers, passers, and shooters. Our posts were 5’8” to 5’10.” My belief was that we were not going to be able to go toe to toe with teams in the half-court. We needed to make the game uptempo- run and shoot on offense and press any chance we could get on defense.

Old School Coaches- The Best of Coaching Clinics

I am hoping to do this segment- "Old School Coaches" 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 post one question to them every two weeks. 

Bob Anderson- Williamsfield HS

Bob is retired as boys basketball coach at Williamsfield. At a school of only 89 students, in 45 years, his teams won 732 games along with numerous tourney and conference championships. His 1997 team made it to the Elite 8. 

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.

Greg King- Sterling HS

In his head coaching career at Sterling, his football teams went 78-28, and had 10 straight play-off appearances and 5 conference titles. In addition to his success as a football coach, he was inducted in the Illinois Athletic Director's Association 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.

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. 

Tom Wierzba- Farmington HS

Tom coached basketball for 38 years, coaching 26 years at Farmington. At Farmington, his teams won 7 sectionals and made 5 trips to State, including a third place and fourth place finish. For his career, his teams won 611 games. In addition, he coached softball at Farmington for 10 years- going 225-50. His softball teams won the State title twice and took fourth once. He has been inducted into both the IBCA and Greater Peoria Sports HOF's.

My Question

Attending clinics does not seem as popular with younger coaches today. Maybe it says something about their attitude or something about technology. We "grew up as coaches" in an era when coaching clinics were a big deal. What did you see as the value of clinics? What were the kind of things you hoped to gain at clinics? Who were some of the best speakers you heard?

Strategy- 1987 - Bad Time Out

The 1980's had not been great to the Streaks. We had won no Regional titles. We had winning records in 1980 (21-4), 1981 (14-10), and 1984 (16-10). The previous two seasons, we had gone 9-17 and 8-17. There was a petition drive by "concerned citizens" to fire the boys coach that Spring. Some had wanted to include the girls coach but fortunately in 1986 there just was not that much interest in girls basketball.  

In 1986-7, we matched up vs. Quincy for the Regional Championship at Galesburg. We had split with Quincy during the season- losing at home in December 47-32 and winning at Quincy in late January 48-21. It was our chance to finally get a Regional title. I had developed laryngitis the day of the game. Mike Jaskoski, who was a good friend and on the boys staff volunteered to sit on the bench and help communicate to the players. 

Parents- Don't Be Bob Cousy

After the Olympic men’s and women’s basketball teams were selected and I looked at their rosters, I wondered how in the world would they keep all of those players happy with their playing time. Early I felt like Coach Kerr was trying to keep everyone happy by playing most of the players almost equal minutes. In my view, he was playing too many players. It was effecting performance and I am not sure anyone was happy. 

The worst thing about basketball is that only five players can play at a time. Players have to learn to embrace roles. The best thing about basketball is that only five players can play at a time. Players have to learn to embrace roles and understand the value of sacrifice and unselfishness. Most of our lives, whether it is in our families or our careers, we have to learn to put the good of the group ahead of our selfish interests.

The famous basketball player and coach, Doug Collins captured the essence of fulfilling roles in basketball. His message was-

“Believe in your role.”

“Stay in your role.”

“Star in your role.”

Title IX Concerns in Quincy

As any of you who have played vs. Quincy or gone to games at Quincy, you are aware that Quincy girls basketball plays in a second, smaller gym. Actually the girls play at QHS, and the boys play in a large spectator gym at the grade school. 

A couple years ago, a father went to the school board to express unhappiness that his son played in the main gym with attached perks, and had a first class locker area- while his daughter played in a small gym with few perks. 

The school responded by adding some perks to the small gym but kept the girl in the gym. It appears now that parents upset with what they feel is a second-class treatment of the girls playing basketball at basketball. We will see what happens. 

Streaks Scrapbook- Girls 1995 Sweet 16

 Girls-   1995-    Sweet 16   29-3   (State Rank #6)

The 1995 Streaks were the first girls basketball team to qualify for State, winning the Sectional and making it to the Sweet 16. To fully understand the 1995 Streaks and their season, you have to look back.

In 1993 the Streaks went 26-4, won the WB6 with a perfect 10-0 record, and were ranked #7 in the State. The 1993 Streaks won their Regional, and advanced to the Limestone, where they faced the host Limestone Rockets. Earlier in the year, the Streaks had beaten Limestone by 20 points at Galesburg, but lost the first game of the Sectional to Limestone by 10 points. Stef Mitchell as a sophomore was the second leading scorer on that team. 

In 1994 the Streaks went 24-6, won the WB6, and were ranked 12th in the State. This time the Streaks hosted the Sectional but lost in the first game to IVC 52-50. 1994 marked the Streaks 7th straight Regional title, but during those 7 years Galesburg won only one Sectional game and no Sectional championships. 

Plans and Plays- Looking Back At The Best and Worst

I asked readers for some suggestions on things to write about. Eric Doss suggested that I look at some of the X/O’s and strategies that either I used or saw during my 50 years of coaching. I like the idea, and I have already enjoyed reflecting back on possible topics. 

I am planning to call this line of posts- Plans and Plays. I want to look at strategy, practices, and scouting reports (Plans), and then look at last second shots and our best plays (Plays). I hope to do at least one Plans and Plays blog per week. As I look at past Plans and Plays, I hope to look at some that worked and some that did not work. 

I don’t mean to insult you but I want to start out by explaining how to read diagrams that I may put up. I am “old school” when it comes to the rules for diagraming plays.

O’s are always offense, and X’s are always defense. If you switch them around, I am really not interested in what you have to say- I just can’t work thru it. 

Solid line with arrow is a cut. Dotted line with arrow is a pass. Squiggly line is a dribbler. 

When I diagram an offensive play with no defense, I always number the offensive players #1 thru #5. Whoever starts with the ball, their number is circled. 

I realize some today would say basketball should be positionless- for me-

#1= Point Guard

#2- Shooting guard

#3- Small forward

#4- Inside post player, runs the floor on makes

#5- Outside post player- takes the ball out- usually is on the perimeter

My numbering for #4 and #5 are opposite of most but when I started using #’s, I had just put in Paul Westhead’s numbered break and that is how Westhead numbered. 

I hope as I go thru this it will be an exercise where maybe it can be a combination of a clinic and in some cases a trip down memory lane.

Thanks to Eric for the idea!!

Streaks Photos- 1980 The Huddle

This is one of my all-time favorite Streaks pictures. This was my second Streaks girls basketball team. Seated from left to right is Amy Crisman, Teresa Powell, Cookie Rosine, Lesa Moore, and Lyndale Pickrel. To my left is assistant coach, Marv Cochran, and I am in the beautiful plaid sport coat. (I still can’t believe my wife threw it out.)

After I switched from coaching boys basketball to girls basketball, some would ask if it was different. I always tried to have the same expectation when coaching boys and coaching girls. It was easier to get females to buy into the team first attitude- they seemed to have a stronger desire to be part of a team. 

Coaches and Critics

At coaching clinics veteran coaches warn young coaches, “Don’t go into coaching if you want to be liked.” I heard that when I was in my twenties, but I didn't really believe it was true. Most young coaches really don’t believe it. I was sure I would work so hard, have a solid basketball mind, and would relate to players. How could I not be a well-like and popular coach?

I was very fortunate that when I first started in girls basketball I had two things going for me. One, there was little community interest in girls basketball so I could make mistakes, grow, and not be under a microscope. And two, I had administrators who had confidence in me. My AD chose to shelter me from critics. 

Ted Lasso- He Can Coach- Part II

Ted Lasso show is very funny and very entertaining, but the guy knows coaching. Lots of great players and coaches agree with him. 

PART II

Ted Lasso- Don't sell yourself short. If anything sell yourself tall and get it altered later. 

Caitlin Clark- In second grade I wrote on a piece of paper, get drafted in the WNBA.

High Schools- Should They Add More Sports?

“It’s not fair, my daughter wants to play lacrosse. Why can’t our school add girls lacrosse as a sport?”

This seems to a phrase that AD’s in Illinois, and probably throughout the nation are hearing from parents. You can take out “girls lacrosse,” and replace it with boys lacrosse, boys volleyball, girls flag football, badminton, gymnastics, and many more. I am sure after the Olympics there will be a push for biking, team handball, and many other sports. In Illinois, the “growing sports” seem to be boys volleyball, boys/girls lacrosse, and girls flag football.

Streaks Scrapbook- Boys 1955 Elite Eight

Coach Frank Adams

Boys- 1955-     Elite 8     18-12    (State Rank-Unranked)

This is the first team in my “scrapbook.” My intent is to include all boys teams (staring with 1955) and all girls teams who made it to the “Sweet Sixteen.” In basketball “going to State” is considered making it to the Sweet Sixteen. The rationale was that originally 16 teams advanced to State. 

In 1955 Galesburg made it to the Elite 8, where they lost an overtime game to Elgin. Elgin went onto take 2nd in State, losing to Rockford West in the Championship Game. 

Galesburg started two seniors- Carroll Fay (5'10" Guard) and Gene Youngquist (6'4" Post). The three juniors in the starting lineup were Mike Owens (6'1" Guard), Russ Lind (6'1" Guard), and Bill Graning (6'5" Post). 

Graning and Youngquist were typically the leading scorers but both Owens and Lind had nights they were the high scorers. The combination of Owens, Lind, and Fay gave the Streaks tough, quick defense. 

Frank Adams came to Galesburg after coaching in Nebraska. This was Adams one, and only year at Galesburg. After the season was over, he went to coach at Knox College and John Thiel (his assistant) became the head coach. 

The Streaks were still playing games at Steele Gym, located at the corner of Broad St. and Simmons St. This was the last year that the Illinois High School Association took 16 teams to play at Huff Gym. The Sweet Sixteen games (now Super-Sectionals) were played on Wednesday, and then the Elite 8 on Friday.

Owens, Graning, and Lind became the nucleus of the 1956 team that advanced to the Super-Sectional before losing to Rockford West in double OT. 

Adams coached five years at Knox but had enough success that he was recognized as the "Knox coach of the first 100 years." Bill Graning followed him to Knox, where he graduated as the all-time leading scorer. Russ Lind played at U. of Colorado where he earned all Big 12 honors. Mike Owens played at Bradley on a team ranked in the top 10 in the U.S. 

Tom Wilson- Article on Frank Adams

Massey Blog- Steele Gym