After 40 years, Bassett has this coaching thing figured out

Fri, Oct 10, 2008    to del.icio.us

SPRING LAKE — In a profession where newcomers are a dime a dozen, Spring Lake tennis coach Charlie Bassett has stood the test of time in coaching prep athletics.

He capped his 40th season guiding the Lakers' tennis program Thursday in a spot that he's grown accustomed to — in first place.

The Lakers' most recent regional championship was the program's fifth in a row, the longest streak in Bassett's tenure and a run that isn't likely to end in the near future. Add that impressive total to seven straight conference championships, and one has to wonder if Bassett, 65, is getting better with age in a coaching profession that several try their hand at but only a handful are consistently successful.

Sure, winning has made it possible for Bassett to remain in his role for as long as he has. He guesses that his boys teams have won close to 20 conference titles during his tenure, which at a 50 percent success rate, isn't too shabby. He also guided former Lakers Patrick Eagan and Ben Cox to individual state titles in the late 1990s.

Bassett has also coached the Lakers' girls tennis team since its inception in 1974.

Everyone loves and respects a winner, but in the game of tennis, Bassett strives to teach his athletes that winning isn't the only thing.

"I always try to get the best out of them, and that's not by hollering or ranting and raving," he said. "I've always felt that to get the best from your players, for them to reach down deep, is to be positive. You can have a lot of affect on what they do.

"Personally, I've always lived by the motto, 'You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink.' It's the same thing with tennis. You can't force the kids into being better tennis players. It's the kids themselves that want to get better. They're the ones that put all the time in. And hopefully, they develop a love for the game."

Click to enlarge
Senior Nate Lee has developed that love for the game, he says, because of Bassett. Lee added to his stellar career at Spring Lake Wednesday by winning his fourth regional championship, to go along with four-straight flight championships at conference meets.

"He cares so much about us," Lee said. "He loves everyone of us, and I think that's rare in coaching these days.

"He sees this as a small part of our lives," he added. "We're going to be playing for four years and for most of us, we'll be done. I think his bigger goal is molding us into good people."

Every coach has his or her own quirks to get the most out of their players, and Bassett is no different.

"I know this sounds kind of strange, but during practice he'll call one of us over and he pulls out our arm and leg hair, and asks us 'odd or even,'" Lee said. "If we're wrong, he'll do it again, but if we're right, he'll let us do it to him. It's just silly stuff that makes it a such a great environment.

"It can be painful, but he doesn't seem to feel it," Lee's No. 1 doubles teammate, Ben Esh-Nauta, added with a grin.

A COACH IS BORN

Believe it or not, Bassett played tennis at his alma mater, Hastings, simply "because it was there."

"I was an honorable mention all-state player in football and a state champion (at 165 pounds) in wrestling," he said of his senior year in 1961. "And tennis was my worst sport out of the three."

But his fondness for the sport grew after he took a coaching class at Western Michigan University, where he also received his teaching degree. He coached two seasons of junior varsity football and varsity wrestling at Spring Lake, before Spring Lake athletic director — and the school's first tennis coach — George DeVries, offered him the varsity position.

The rest, as they say, is history.

He's had several landmark moments in his career since then, including introducing the Lakers' summer program almost immediately, establishing the Spring Lake Invitational in 1971, and coaching the girls program when it started in 1974. He's picked up a handful of Coach of the Year honors and was elected to the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1992.

Of course, there have been rough stretches, none more prominent than the passing of his first wife, Barbara, due to liver failure in 2000.

Like any father would, Bassett felt obligated to put his family first, especially in a tough time. During that season, his son, Chad, was a senior tennis player at Grand Haven, and Bassett didn't want to miss being his son's biggest fan.

"I made a promise to Barbara that I'd take care of our son, and I did that," Bassett said.

But he also didn't want to quit a program he had invested so much time and effort into. That spring, Bassett worked out an agreement with then-Spring Lake athletic director Tom Hickman, allowing him to be a part-time coach. When his son had meets at the same day and time Spring Lake contests, assistant coach Eric Kippling would be the man in charge.

It allowed a father and son to bond, to grieve, to talk tennis, and to eventually attend Notre Dame football games together when Chad was a student at the university.

"But," Bassett added with a chuckle, "I always had him try to get most of the tickets after the tennis season."

STILL GOING STRONG

Lee said Bassett expects his players to be fundamentally sound once they enter the varsity program. Not every tennis coach has that luxury. But Spring Lake's program has benefited from all the off-season work.

"I've been coaching here 40 years and our summer program has been going for 40 years," Bassett said. "That's been a big plus. We've had a lot of (past players) come back as teachers. They feel they have to give back to the program."

His players also recently showed what Bassett means to them. A group of present and past players established a scholarship fund in his honor through the Grand Haven Area Community Foundation last year. The Charles Bassett Legacy Fund will fund scholarships and tennis programs over the coming years, a perfect example to what Bassett stands for.

Who knows how many lives that fund will affect, or how many more Bassett will mold on the tennis court. He said he has "no idea" on how much longer he wants to coach.

"As long as I feel that I continue to give back to the kids, I'll keep doing it," Bassett said. "I feel good, so I see no reason to stop now.

"I've been fortunate. We've got talented kids here — that's the bottom line. We've had a string of kids come through here recently, and they've all done a good job.

"I'm just one little factor in all of this, and sometimes I think I'm not much of a factor at all."

His players would sure to disagree. There's 40 years of testimony from the lives he's shaped to argue against him.