By JAYCEE DALE
Hays High School winter sports are starting out fresh in all seasons with new coaches for every sport. With all four sports having new coaches and faces to the scene, Hays High is in hopes for a successful year in winter sports.
Boy’s basketball coach Alex Hutchins, the former girls’ basketball coach, is set to take over the legacy longtime former coach Rick Keltner has left. Girls’ basketball coach Kyle Porter is a new face to Hays High, coming from Royal Valley. He is set to lead the Hays High girls to victory this season.
Former assistant wrestling coach Heath Meder is set to take over the wrestling team. Lastly a new face to Hays High is the new boys’ swimming coach, Jane Rorstrom.
The two basketball coaches responded to questions in hopes of getting an insight of what to expect this season. The first practices for winter sports were today.
Coach Porters’ responses:
- What is your coaching history, and how long have you been coaching?
This is my sixth year coaching high school girls’ basketball, and my third year as head coach. I coached three years as an assistant at Royal Valley High School in Hoyt, Kan. The past two years I was the head coach at Royal Valley. In those two years, we were 38-13 and played in two state championships, winning the 3A state championship last year. - How do you plan to turn around this program and make it better?
I believe the Hays High girls’ basketball program is trending in the right direction. A large part of this credit goes to the recent work of Coach Hutchins, Coach Maska, and the ladies that have worn the Hays High uniform. We hope to build on the recent success of the program and desire to take Hays High girls’ basketball from good to great. In order to do this, we need to approach each day with a competitor’s mindset and focus on consistent, daily improvement, both individually and as a team. - Have you been able to work and get to know your athletes through the summer and school year? If so, how do you think that will help you to start your season?
I was able to spend time with our players this summer, coaching them in summer league and in a few summer tournaments. Anytime you step into a new position, I believe that building relationships should be the primary focus. This summer, my approach was to sit back and observe our players in as many situations as possible. I tried to listen and ask as many questions as I could in order to better understand our player’s past experiences and what their motivations and dreams are for our team. Once we get our season started, we will work to make those dreams a reality. - What are your goals for this season?
I don’t really believe in setting goals. We focus more on creating championship habits. We have a list of these habits and call them “Gold Habits” because we believe they lead to successful outcomes. We want our players to be committed members of the team, display compassion towards one another, compete in everything we do, to be mindful and play the game one possession at a time, and to play with joy, to be the most excited to play each night. We believe that if we can cultivate these habits, the score will take care of itself and we will reach our collective potential. - What are you most excited about with coaching the Hays High girls’ basketball team?
I believe there is so much potential in the town of Hays. I think we have great kids and supportive families who want Hays High to be successful. It’s my hope that we can build something special and to start a tradition that will continue for years to come.
Coach Hutchins’ responses:
- What is your coaching history, and how long have you been coaching?
This will be my fourth year as a head coach, and sixth total year in coaching. My head coaching record to this point is 46-22, including a 14-8 season with the Hays High girls last year. - How do you plan to turn around this program and make it better?
I don’t feel as though Hays High boys’ basketball needs to be turned around, as this is a program in great shape thanks to the many years of hard work by Coach Keltner. I do believe putting an emphasis on the weight room, multi-sport athletes and finding the best schemes and strategies based on our players’ strengths will allow us to continue to build on the past success. - Have you been able to work and get to know your athletes through the summer and school year? If so, how do you think that will help you to start your season?
Our players and our coaching staff have gotten to put in a lot of sweat equity leading up to the season. Almost all of our players were in attendance every week at our summer weights program. We also played in the Hays Rec summer league, three MAYB tournaments and the KU Team Camp. This fall, we were able to continue building relationships in the weight room and on the football field. Our pre-existing relationships and experiences with the players will help us a great deal. We know our players’ personalities and what makes them tick, as well as their skill sets. This knowledge should help us relate and communicate with them and have a better understanding of how to put them in positions to be successful.
4. What are your goals for this season?
Our biggest goal is to compete every day in practice. We want to work and improve on a daily basis to put ourselves in position to compete for a WAC championship and sub-state championship. - What are you most excited about with coaching boys?
The aspect of coaching boys I’m most excited about is that I get the opportunity to coach some of the same athletes two or even three consecutive seasons. It’s fun to be in different competitive environments with players and grow together.