By Joanna Chadwick

Kapaun boys basketball coach Steve Eck spent most of Thursday playing golf. He played Wednesday and plans to play again on Friday.

But if it’s the weekend, Eck is likely out at a basketball tournament watching Kapaun players.

“I go to see what they need to work on individually but also to watch other teams and other players, to watch for their tendencies so I’ll know what they’ll do,” Eck said.

Like most basketball programs, Kapaun spent June working together as a team.

“We work to get them to understand our defense, our defensive rotations and philosophies,” he said. “We work on individual skills, but it’s mostly to get them to understand what we do on defense.”

Players are more prone to work on offensive skills on their own. Not so much defense, though.

“They’re not going to go guard someone one on one for the heck of it,” Eck said.

He’s also focused on making sure that he gives athletes a chance.

“When you’re a 5-2, 5-3 freshman, a lot of coaches will give up on you,” Eck said. “A lot of things can happen in four years. You never know, they could get that growth spurt and they’ll go.

“… You have to give them a chance to develop.”

Eck points to Nathan Wegeng, who signed to play at Kansas Wesleyan, as the perfect example.

“He was short as a freshman but turned out to be a 6-2 senior and he got a college scholarship. I don’t want to cut them off,” Eck said.

Most Kapaun athletes play multiple sports.

“Our kids have to play two or three sports so we can compete because we’re a small 5A school,” Eck said. “… You learn how to be a teammate in more than one sport. Each sport is different in terms of being a teammate.

“In football, you specialize on offense or defense, but in basketball, you better specialize in both because we can’t sub you in for offense only.

“Playing multiple sports helps them compete a lot better.”