Overdue recognition for top basketball coach

Press, 16 August 1978, Page 22

Overdue recognition for top basketball coach

By

ROD DEW

In the 27 years that Kerry Williams has been coaching basketball he has never been afraid to speak his mind and his new status as New Zealand’s “basketball coach of the year” is not likely to soften his forthright character.

His tendency to bluntly remind administrators and officials where they have erred has not always helped increase his circle of friends. But his success with young players cannot be questioned. Being voted “coach of the year” by other coaches is overdue recognition of the considerable contribution he has made to the sport. “This honour has given me a lot of personal satis-

faction. I have had a lot of kicks in the teeth. This is one of those nice things which makes you dig in for another season,” he said.

Sport has always played a major role in Mr Williams’s life. In his youth he was a New Zealand 3000 m steeplechase representative and cross-country champion, as well as a fine provincial basketbailer. This winter he is trying for his seventh straight win with his Mairehau High School girls in the national secondary schools’ basketball championship. It is a record unrivalled in the sport.

In addition, he has guided the Mairehau High School boys to three wins in their section of the national secondary schools’ championship and last season he coached the Canterbury under 20 girls to a win in their New Zealand championship. This year, for the first time since he moved to Christchurch from Nelson 14 years ago, he is coaching the Canterbury senior women and hopes are high that he will be able to lift them out of the doldrums and into national reckoning.

“It is very hard to mould together these girls from different clubs but the team has tons of talent. It lacks height but we will make up for that by playing a hard, fast running game. I am quite certain the team will qualify for the final tournament.” But the moment of truth will be at North Shore this week when the top eight teams contest the Skellerup New Zealand championship. “This is going to be very hard. There are some good teams.”

Mr Williams is also coaching the Canterbury under 20 side. However, this is the last season he is prepared to coach as an amateur outside Mairehau High School where he is the head physical education specialist. “If I ever coach at provincial or national level again it will not be on an amateur basis. I will want to be paid for it.” Professionalism is necessary if basketball is to continue to flourish, he believes. This means paying good players, coaches, and administrators, and also outfitting younger players.

He would like to see the law relaxed to enable clubs to conduct gambling evenings to raise funds. “In other countries the sport is professionalised. In Australia the clubs have got poker machines.” Even in New Zealand, golf clubs and working men’s clubs do very well, running such things as non-stop raffles. He feels that basketball clubs shotlid be able to finance their activities in a similar way.

“My future will certainly depend on whether I am paid. I cannot afford to go on as an amateur outside my school. You can only sacrifice so much.” Mr Williams has been soured, too, by the constant rejection of his nomination as coach for the New Zealand under 20 men’s and women’s teams in recent years. It has upset him to watch American players arrive in the country and be given such national coaching positions ahead of New Zealand coaches. He was coach of the New Zealand secondary schoolgirls’ team last season but he believes he can do even more in the higher grade. “The New Zealand federation definitely underestimates the ability of New Zealand coaches. There are many fine coaches here.” He singles out Lance Mc-

Several members of last year’s Canterbury Freyberg Rose Bowl team have a battle ahead of them to retain their places for the tournament at Taupo in October. Stephen Street (above), who made a fine

Loughlin (Hutt Valley), Ray Thomson (Canterbury), and Trevor Wright (Nelson), for special mention in this regard. “These three coaches are at. least the equal of any I have encountered. I have certainly not seen any better coaching from Americans.” He agrees that there are some very good American players in New Zealand who can coach at the top level. “Beneath that level, our New Zealand coaches more than hold their own.” Mr Williams has no argument with American teams coming to New Zealand, as long as they are not too good. Having to play a team of New Zealand-based Americans against touring sides was a “disgrace.” The increasing trend for top players to travel overseas to gain experience was undoubtedly of benefit to them. But it worried him, nevertheless. “We have got to find some incentive for our players, and not just the top 10. This has got .to be given a lot of serious thought at provincial and national level. Otherwise, I am certain we are going to lose our top players overseas in increasing numbers. We can’t afford to lose these players.” In May and June Mr Williams took Mairehau

debut last year, is one under pressure. Against Buller-Westland at the week-end, Street, the No. 5, lost his first match to Scott McCrea, 5 and 4, but improved to win his second game against Michael Thompson, 2 and 1.

High School boys’ and girls’ teams to Australia and he knows several approaches were made to the players to return to Australia. Lack of jobs in New Zealand for young people leaving school was one problem. A lot of players were putting so much time into basketball that they were running the risk of not achieving a high enough academic standard to get what jobs were available. “Overseas clubs offer them free fares, free uniform, and a job. We have got to match that, somehow.”

The recent emphasis on the national club championships also concerns him. “The club championships are doing a lot of harm. New players go to the strongest cities and the strongest clubs because they know they will get better practice and a greater chance of being seen by the national selectors if they do. This is great for strong clubs like JaksHigh School Old Boys and Otago University but it certainly holds back all the others.”

Players who had worked their way through the ranks often got pushed aside by players coming in from other centres and one team became so strong that the local championships developed into farces. The teams which collected all the top players often lacked team spirit and club loyalty, Mr Williams said.

National club competition should take second place to inter-provincial competition. “If there are not going to be any changes in the club championship, it would be better to do away with it altogether. A national club championship would only work well if the sport became professional.” Apart from winning the national school title last season for the sixth time, Mr Williams also takes pride in the victory by his team of Mairehau schoolgirls in the Canterbury first division championship last season. The team is performing well again in the grade this year and. if anything, is stronger than ever before. He is particularly pleased with the development of two young players, Rayne Cassidy and 3ronwyn Palmer. The success in open competition of his team of schoolgirls can be directly attributed to the ability and single-minded-ness of its coach, but it also provides a sad commentary on the state of women’s club basketball in Canterbury. Something is wrong somewhere and Kerry Williams is the first to agree.