Coaches Corner – Sean
Ferguson
What began as a community
service endeavor quickly turned into a passion for Evansville Lutheran
School boys’ varsity
basketball coach, Sean Ferguson. His career began like many other parents: by answering
a need at the school his children attended. After two years of junior varsity
coaching and now five years of varsity basketball, Ferguson is still as excited
about teaching the kids about basketball as he was the first day he ran a
practice.
“I love the game and believe it can teach kids so much,”
said Ferguson. “I didn’t have any experience when I started, but was fortunate
to be able to develop a plan and attempt to make an impact for the school and
for the kids.”
Ferguson
is enjoying his best season on the bench this year as his ELS Monarchs are 10-1
on the season and have already claimed their own Invitational Tournament
Championship, a title that eluded the school for many years.
“Of
course it’s fun when your team is winning,” Ferguson said. “But that’s not the
number one factor. It’s teaching the kids about commitment and hard work and
what it means to be a part of a team.”
Teamwork
has to be at the center of every coach’s game plan according to Ferguson.
“Not
every one is cut out to play basketball,” Ferguson said. “You’ve got some kids
that are better at it than others. The key is to try to bring each kid along in
the process and make sure they understand their role on the team. The team has
many different roles and it’s important to make sure everyone knows that.”
Ferguson’s
number one issue as a coach is getting all of his kids enough playing
time.
“We’re
committed to trying to get everyone as much playing time as we possibly can,”
Ferguson said. “But it’s hard. The game isn’t long enough sometimes to allow a
coach to play all 13 players. I have a hard time every year trying to get
everyone enough playing time and when I don’t I feel really bad.”
One
way that Ferguson is ensuring that all his players get valuable experience is
to give each player a starting role in at least one game.
“It’s
incredibly meaningful to see a kid’s face light up when you tell him he’s going
to start in the next game,” Ferguson said. “The funny thing is that every
player, when given that chance, rises to the occasion and performs sometimes
better than expected.”
In
his seven years of active coaching, Ferguson has seen the players change in
their attitude and approach to the game.
“It’s
no secret to anyone that kids today play this game year around,” Ferguson
explained. “For the ones that have the drive and the determination to play at
the high school level, it’s become a requirement.”
Ferguson
has also devoted his time to coaching in the Lutheran Developmental League, a
program that was started by former ELS Athletic Director Kurt Younghouse. Ferguson gives credit to
Younghouse and the LDL program for developing the kids at a younger age.
“The
program that Kurt started is now coming up on its fourth year,” said Ferguson.
“We have players on our team that played in that program. It’s definitely been
a key part in developing a strong program for the school.”
Besides
coaching, Ferguson also manages the team’s website and uses the site as a
motivational tool for the kids and a communications tool for the parents. The
team’s website can be found at http://www.leaguelineup.com/gomonarchs. The
site’s password will have to be emailed to you.