Sideline demeanor - not 'the meaner'

You’ve seen them — particularly in college, with the TV cameras focused on their every move.

Men’s basketball coaches, standing instead of sitting, as close to the court as possible — sometimes even out on the court — seemingly controlling everything going on out there.

Calling every offensive play. Calling every defensive set. Seemingly controlling every pass, every cut. Everything. Plus barking at the refs.

Whenever the next genre of TVs is introduced, you will actually be able to see if there are indeed strings attached to the players, controlled by a wand held by the coach.

The next time a coach explains a miscommunication between him and his players by saying, “We got our wires crossed,” he may be closer to the truth than you would have imagined.

Lake City High girls basketball coach James Anderson is still early into his coaching career. But he’s watched enough, and spent enough time on the sidelines to figure out a few things.

“I believe that basketball is the most undertaught and overcoached game out there,” Anderson said recently. “I believe in teaching in practice and not overcoaching them during the game. I hope to do a great job teaching, and just let them play.”

When I watch coaches go through their gyrations on the sideline, I think back to John Wooden of UCLA. I don’t remember him as much as standing up during a game — most of the vintage shots were of him seated next to his assistants, rolled-up program in his hand.

Now, the cynic would say well, he had great players, so not much coaching was needed. But Wooden did his teaching in practice — he always said he considered himself more of a teacher than a basketball coach.

Of the coaches around here, Dale Poffenroth comes to mind as someone with a pretty relaxed bench decorum. He didn’t stand up a whole lot during the games.

Of course, he was known for his legendary long practices. But the idea was, his teams would be so well-prepared coming into the game, they wouldn’t have to be told what to do all the time.

Six state championships later ...

SPEAKING OF state championships ...

Marc Allert has won two in the last six seasons at Post Falls — in 2013, with a team led by Dani Failor and Brooke Litalien, and last season, a squad led by Melody Kempton and Bayley Brennan.

(He doesn’t cause a lot of commotion on the sidelines, either, for what that’s worth.)

So he knows what life at the top is like, once and again.

This year, his team was gutted by graduation and transfers. The expectations are nowhere near what they were the last two seasons, but that doesn’t mean this season can’t be a success in its own way.

“I really enjoy these kids,” said Allert, in his eighth season as Trojan girls coach. “They’re fun to be around. Obviously we’ll be different than we were last year, but I think it’s going to be a great year.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.