Coaching is not for everyone, and the number of coaches at MHS has fluctuated during the 24 years that varsity boys basketball coach Champ Wrencher has been coaching and teaching, he said. At the start of his career, there were a multitude of on-campus coaches, and while many quit eventually, MHS has more coaches now than in the middle of his career, he added.
Being both a teacher and a coach “is not difficult at all because I love basketball, and that’s all I do when I leave campus,” Wrencher said. “I genuinely like the stuff I teach, so I look forward to coming in every day and talking about it … I do most of my work here on campus, so I keep things separate.”
On the other hand, time away from family is a downside as coaching during the season and preseason can be time-consuming, varsity boys soccer coach James Williams said.
“You have to still teach the class, stay on top of your grading, and you have all your responsibilities,” Williams said. “And then you have the responsibilities of coaching a program and being in charge of 60 different human beings, communication, emails, and phone calls. And it’s not easy, but once you’ve done it and you have a flow, you can make it work.”
As a former James Logan High School student and coach, Williams came to coach at MHS because of the students’ and sports program’s potential to grow, he said.
“Seeing some of the players, knowing the other coaches, and just believing in my own abilities to help … I thought I could do a good job,” Williams said. “So, working together on all of the aspects — the players having to do the work and me helping with the organization, it started to move in the right direction.”
Varsity football coach Kelly King, an MHS graduate, has been teaching at MHS since 1990 and coaching since 1985, he said. He hopes his players learn valuable lessons from their experiences together like how he did from his former coaches, he added.
“This is where I grew up,” King said. “This was kind of the ‘next in line,’ and there’s always somebody that’s coming to take your place, but you want to try this to at least give it your best effort. It was a chance to do good for the school and hopefully help the kids in Milpitas, give them a chance to get out to go to colleges, and give them the exposure that they need for recruiting.”
As a coach, it is important to try to be there for players and give them opportunities as young men who are about to face hardships in college, King said.
“It’s always my favorite moment when kids come back and ten years down the road, they’ve got the college degree, their families, everything’s going well, and they’re giving back to their communities,” King said. “That’s the best part.”
Part of the total experience of coaching is being able to see the players on campus and in class, and what they are up to, Wrencher said.
“When I was growing up, the high school coach in my neighborhood had the gym open for us all summer long throughout the day, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever,” Wrencher said.
The high school coach in Wrencher’s childhood was known for helping kids practice basketball and allowing them to have fun in the gym every summer, which inspired Wrencher to be impactful and involved as a coach.
“I always wanted to be that coach,” Wrencher said. “If you’re a coach in high school, in my opinion, you should be a teacher. If you can’t, I don’t think you can truly have a good connection with your team if you’re someone that just shows up on campus in the afternoons.”
Spending a vast amount of time together as players and coaches allows the coach to see them grow and struggle while giving them the advice to work through adversity together, Williams said.
“One of my former players from my previous school is now my assistant coach here,” Williams said. “I asked him if he was interested, and he’s been my assistant coach now for two years. Building those relationships is how I grew up playing, and the assistant coach from when I played is a good friend of mine and was one of the groomsmen at my wedding. So, it’s just those lifelong relationships that hopefully lead to something good.”
Some of the most important things a coach can offer are guidance in the right direction for pursuing professional sports, helping players recognize their potential, and being realistic about expectations, Wrencher said. When former players return to visit, their gratitude and thankfulness for everything he provided them are the best moments of his career, he added. “Those are the best moments that get you after you’ve been doing it for ten or fifteen years,” Wrencher said. “When that starts to happen, that makes you want to go another ten years.”