ADVICE FOR COACHING YOUR SONS

By CHUCK TANK

It seems natural for coaches who love sports they coach to have visions of their sons
leading their teams to championships and state tournaments.

While growing up, coaches' sons are often around the game a lot. Many grow
up in the gym. My own son, Wes, went to his first basketball game in Plymouth when
he was two months old. Sons see how important the game is to their fathers and
their families.

They see their dad's reaction to an official's questionable block/charge call or
a player's misread of a play. They also see role models, high school players they've
watched and emulated throughout the week.

At some point, the dream of playing basketball in high school or beyond
crystallizes in their mind. Their father, however, may have envisioned this long
before.

The anticipation begins:

Coach Jack Bennett turned to a colleague shortly before coaching his oldest
son, Jay (at Rhinelander). The wisdom shared at the time would serve as an
overriding guide for the next 12 years.

"I asked for advice from the coach who preceded me there, Tom Andres,"
Bennett said. "He had just finished coaching his son. He gave me good advice when I
told him that I was going to be tougher on (Jay).

"He said, 'That's OK, but just so you remember that you will coach your son
or daughter for a few years. You will be their father for all their lives. Do not say ...
or do anything that will jeopardize that long-range relationship.'"

The education begins:

As Coach Bo Ryan was compiling a masterful resume of victories,
championships and honors while climbing the coaching ladder, his two sons, Will and
Matt, were absorbing that basketball-rich environment.

The insightful Coach Ryan had strong feelings about what it would take for his
sons to be successful in the game. Coach Ryan was all about teaching his boys
similar values which he had learned back in Chester, Pa. He knew that a blue-collar
desire to work was crucial.

"What I tried to instill in them was that the reason that they were coming to
the gym was to see how hard the players were working," Ryan said. "I told them the
reason they had towels in their hands when they were ball boys was because our
players took a lot of charges and would dive on the floor a lot, and they would have
to wipe up the sweat. How did they get sweaty? They worked hard."

"Coaching Our Sons" by Chuck Tank is available through Badger Books LLC. It
can be ordered by calling 1-800-928-2372 or via www.badgerbooks.com

NOTES: This is the first in a series of excerpts from Dodgeville prep boys
basketball coach Chuck Tank's new book, "Coaching Our Sons." Today's installment
is from the chapter entitled "The Anticipation of Coaching Our Sons."