Let's say I've been hired by a random school in Wyandotte County to put together a great athletic department.
Part of my mission would be to hire great coaches to compete for state title games and to build programs that can compete at any level.
However, let's say I can only hire coaches who currently serve in Wyandotte County. With that field, who would I pick?
Here are my answers for most of the larger sports.
(I'm not sure what makes a great cross country coach, volleyball coach or track coach, to be honest.)
These are my choices, some of which may be controversial.
Still, let me emphasize this for coaches who may not make the list – these guys are NOT the only good coaches at their sport. I think football is particularly a strong point in KCK, despite the tough season last year. Coaching baseball and soccer in KCK is a tough task, too.
KCK is generally lucky to have a lot of good quality people coaching.
But let's have a little fun and try to stir some debate. Why not?
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Boys Basketball – Todd Magwire, Bishop Ward
State championships are tough to win in any sport, at any level and in any state. Still, winning a boys basketball state title in the State of Missouri is considerably more difficult in Kansas. There's two large metro areas in Missouri and thus more talent and more teams. I'm a KCK homer, but even I can't deny how tougher it is winning a state title in Missouri.
Magwire has won "the big one" in the Show-Me State at O'Hara and to me that speaks volumes. What also speaks volumes is when I talk to departed seniors like Evan Burns and Alfie Rangel about how Magwire impacted them.
Both spoke about how Magwire teaches the fundamentals so well and how realistic of a coach he is. "Rome was not built in a day" is a popular saying Magwire said to his players during his first season there. Ward doubled their win total from three to six in Magwire's first year, but it was the attitude and toughness of the team that improved over the year.
Even if Magwire can not turn Ward into a consistent winner, he would still be my choice. The current economy has hurt Ward's ability to attract top-fleet athletes.
But if I had a group of studs ready to be coached to a state title and all I needed was a coach, give me Magwire and let's roll.
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Girls Basketball – Torrence Allen, Sumner Academy
Allen is not afraid to challenge his best players and that has worked for both Kathleen Brisbane and Sameia Kendall.
Allen has won at all levels during his coaching career and came close to becoming the first KCK head coach since Randy Springs to take two separate KCK basketball programs to the state tournament this past season when Sumner appeared in the sub-state final game. Allen's a good teacher of the game and many of his players have compared him to a father-like figure.
You can not beat that.
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Soccer (Boys and Girls) – Carlos Olivas, Harmon
If there's one coach in the entire county who is "the face of the athletic department" more than Olivas, let me know.
Olivas is a Harmon Hawk by blood (he played soccer there) and in a community like KCK, that's huge. Last year I spent significant time with the Harmon Lady Hawks soccer program and I saw how well Olivas connected with him in terms of doing well on the field and doing well in the classroom.
Olivas' own grade program is more strict than the school district's and he's a disciplinarian of the highest order. Still, he comes off as a player's coach even with that discipline. He's proof that finding a good combination is possible.
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Baseball – Dennis Hurla, Bishop Ward
No explanation really necessary, but I'll give a short one. He's arguably the greatest coach in the entire history of the State of Kansas. Whenever I hear the tired cliche of "baseball managers don't matter," Hurla is the person I point to.
Ward's won four titles since my time at
The Kansas City Kansan. Based on the preseason expectations for both Ward and the 4A baseball field, only one of them came when Ward was the overwhelming favorite. Hurla is good at finding those diamonds in the rough, no pun intended.
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Wrestling – Peter Sierant, Turner
Sierant has produced many state qualifiers and state champs during his time at Turner. No active coach has won more than Sierant has and the Golden Bears are lucky to have him.
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Football – Allen Terrell, Turner and Todd Wassman, Sumner Academy
I hate ties too, but both of these guys are great coaches who have done a tremendous job during their times as head coach.
Terrell is a very passionate coach who has built a deep program, especially for Wyandotte County standards and past efforts at Turner. Turner was a down program before Terrell took over and two years ago, the Golden Bears were 8-2, one of the best finishes in school history. They finished second in the Kaw Valley League. Three years ago, Turner was 13 points away from getting to the state tournament, almost beating St. Thomas Aquinas. If Turner had not been banged up last year, the Golden Bears may have advanced out of regionals.
Wassman's on my list simply because Sumner Academy football, in a word, was bad during my five years at the school. Two wins were considered a successful season and three wins were considered a miracle. Now, winning is becoming a tradition for Sumner Academy football under Wassman. He's done a tremendous job, one that I think is very underrated across the metro at any sport. Back in my Sabre days, I never dreamed Sumner Academy could win nine or 10 games in a season. That happened last year. I also enjoy Sumner Academy's aggressive offense. Wassman's group never concedes and I love me some Wassman play-calling. Very fun team to watch.
Another thing that I particularly like about both Terrell and Wassman is they both encourage me to talk to their non-star players. I'll never forget Wassman encouraging me to talk to a couple of his defensive players rather than Benny Parker or Armand Brisbane. He wasn't trying to tell me how to do my job but only trying to point to guys who may be overlooked by others. That's a definition of a player's coach.
