In the year 1980, President Jimmy Carter put in place a grain embargo against Russia. That was the year our first Global Positioning system became active in commercial use. That same year, Coach Mark Romick returned to River High School. Little did he know that 45 years later, he would still be at the school he loved, and be a well-known coach across Ohio for his winning basketball teams.

In the year 1993, Michael Jordan made his 20,000th-point, adding to his legendary record for his skills on the hardwood floors of professional basketball. It was also the year that in a bleak and barren part of Texas known as Waco, a siege had begun that resulted in one of the darkest days in our country’s history. That was the same year Coach Rick Isley returned to River High school to begin his teaching educational career. A few years later he began coaching the girls’ basketball team, a job he’s still doing today. Coach Isley’s teams have been known for their skilled play, which has led to him and his teams becoming well-known in the Ohio Valley.

Last week I traveled to River High School to speak with these two seasoned basketball coaches. As I put together my questions, I wanted to know about the upcoming season and their players. I also wanted to know a little bit about the coaches who would be leading their teams once again this year.

Now, somewhere in the back of my mind, I realized that both men had been coaching for several years. When Coach Romick told me he had been at River for 45 years, and coaching for 30, and Coach Isley told me he has spent 32 years of his life at River, and 22 years coaching the girl’s team, I was a bit surprised by the years each man had dedicated to his home school athletic programs. In fact, for both men, decades have passed since they first put a team on the court.

Over many years of following high school sports, I have come to realize the selfless efforts a high school coach has to dedicate themselves too, in order to be a high school coach. They never forget their first job is always as an educator. Somewhere in their early lives they made the decision that educating young people was their life’s calling. Beyond the educating of young people, they may have seen coaching as a secondary job. In all cases, the job of coaching may be a personal choice, but in order to do the job with dedication, it also needs the coach’s family to sign on and be part of the sports life.

When I caught up with Coach Romick, he had his team watching the previous night’s scrimmage films. He was carefully pointing out to the players their mistakes and where they needed to improve. I could tell by his instructions, some of the players needed to better understand the need to improve their play during practice in order to be ready for game time and the upcoming season.

When I sat down with Coach Rick Isley, I realized that I had never really spoken with him before except in passing. He is a quiet, articulate man, who knows he has a big task ahead of him this season. His team is made up of eight girls that will play twenty games by season’s end. Each game they will represent their school, coach Isley and themselves. He expressed his beliefs that the team may be short of players, but each of them is dedicated to the goal of playing for a fourth OVAC championship. That is done one game at a time, with five-on-five players on the floor. That is an equal chance for success.

Some coaches I have spoken with over the years come off as Knute Rockne style of coaching, a hard coaching and take no prisoners style of educating players. Both Coach Isley and Romick have become confident in their style of coaching, realizing they will do all they know how to teach the game. But their biggest challenge they face is to inspire each player to work hard, be part of a team, and be proud of themselves. That inspiration may not win games and championships, but it will serve them throughout their lives.

Coach Romick has twenty players to build this year’s team, while coach Isley has eight. Both start off the season with the goal of winning as many games as possible and building teams that the community can be proud of. The young men and women should be proud that such fine coaches are willing to step up and share with them decades of basketball knowledge. That is how I see it,Through the Lens.