So what makes Coach Keene tick, you ask? It's not the fame. It's definitely not the money. But these three areas might sum up what I see from behind the bench this time of year...
LOVE OF THE GAME......I hear about people quitting coaching because it takes too much time from their families and life. I always reply, "They don't love the game like Coach Keene does". To coach basketball, a person has to have the true love of the game. This isn't a passing interest to watch on Saturday night. Basketball coaches don't show up on game day and everything is magically done. I know just from the high school level, my husband is home at 10 or after most nights. Monday's, Thursday's and Saturday's are game days and Sunday is watching game film and a few college games for inspiration. The week starts over again on Monday with practice until who knows when. That is just during the season. A person that doesn't love the game couldn't do it. Coach Keene aspires to coach in the college ranks sometime in the next five to seven years. The demands at that level will definitely put this coaches wife in therapy....
LOVE FOR THE PLAYERS....... A coach has to really love his players. A coach spends more time with the gals on his team than with his own family. If a coach doesn't care for his players, he will not care what happens to them. He will not make the best choices for them as players and students to insure their health. He will expect their best on and off the court. He will want them to succeed in all their future endeavors too.
A STUDENT OF THE GAME......Basketball is not just something a person is born knowing. Talent for running and an instinct on the court is just part of the game. A coach has to be smart enough to know he doesn't know everything. He has to be a student of the game as long as he is a coach of the game. This is the off season work most of the time. He is studying film from other teams, reading books by other coaches, and visiting basketball clinics. A coach is more than just a coach. He has a passion for something that many of us can't understand. He spends all of his time learning and getting ready for the next game. Even when they win, he is trying to figure out how to do it better for not just his team, but for the fans.
So, as the Keene Family heads into the heart of the off season, you can bet Coach Keene is in BUILDING mode. Watch out ladies, hes got some new tricks up his sleeve starting June 1st.....We, and I mean that in more ways than one, are on the road to Redbird, yet again...
