• Former Colonel Austin Newton is in his first year as an
assistant coach after spending two years in the role of Basketball
Operations Assistant at EKU.
• Newton began his coaching career at Massachusetts where
he served under former EKU head coach Travis Ford.
• A native of Campbellsville, Ky., Newton is the all-time assist leader and second leading scorer in Campbellsville High School history.
EKU's Austin Newton discusses keeping things fresh
Gameplan discussions, attention to small details, & analyzing opponents are what make any coach or team successful. In this “Ken Pomeroy / Synergy” age we are living in, every single piece of information imaginable about your team or opponent is available at the click of mouse. Coaches and teams around the nation spend countless hours watching film and dissecting an opponent’s tendencies to put their team in the best possible position to win. As the season progresses, the grind of preparing for the next game can become routinely tiresome to both coaches and players
Most coaches understand the importance of keeping things “fresh” throughout a long and grueling season. In order for your team to be completely focused on the next game’s preparation, it is the responsibility of the coaching staff to set the tone. Our head Coach Jeff Neubauer is one of the best I’ve seen at coming up with ideas to keep our team entertained and engaged, especially late in the year.
For example, we have clip tapes rolling on all TV’s in the locker room of EVERY shot our team has made until this point of the season. While our guys get ready for practice, they get a chance to see themselves making shots and over and over again. For the rest of our games this season, our Director of basketball operations Ryan Wiersma will find our team’s best highlights from the year and put them to music for our players to watch before they go out to warmups. These are just a couple small examples of what we do for our guys in relation to basketball.
Sometimes the best way to keep a team fresh is to do something totally unrelated to basketball. Last Friday night Coach Neubauer took our whole team to the “Hummel Planetarium” on EKU’s campus to get a brief lesson on the stars and the universe! While the presentation about the big dipper had absolutely nothing to do with basketball, Coach Neubauer took the opportunity the following day in practice to tell one of our guys to stop “star gazing” and go get a rebound! Small things like this keep our guys smiling and fresh during a competitive season. They never really know what the next day might have in store for them!
Things that keep me fresh as a coach are also totally unrelated to basketball. At the top of my freshness list is time with family and friends. I especially enjoy time with those people who have absolutely zero knowledge about basketball and could care less about wins or losses. When you have been at the office for 16 hours, the last thing you want to do is come home and listen to your wife tell you that, “Johnny has been turning it over way too much or your guys just aren’t blocking out!”
Luckily, I have a wife and daughter who support me and my job no matter what! They may not understand the concepts of our 1-3-1 Zone, know where we are in the conference standings, or understand why daddy watches so much film. They just want to know that I enjoy my job and will do whatever it takes to make sure I’m happy when I get home. This is what makes both of those girls so important to me and my career. Every second I spend with them is a much needed refresh in this long season of college basketball.
Best of luck to you and your team as the season winds down and March Madness approaches!
* * *
