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Show By KEITH DUNCAN Journal Sports ' PROVO - Theres times in athletics you lose, ups and downs all the time, said Roger Reid in an interview last week. -- WEVE GOT TO take athletics the way we coaches teach it. That we always come back from a defeat or a setback and look toward the future. If we cant do that then athletics has no place with the public. Athletics is like life. Right now Ive gone through a setback and havent received a job I dearly wanted, but its happened before and all I can do is to truly support Ladell Andersons program and look forward to the day when my chance will come, continued Reid. WORDS CANNOT describe the depression and frustration that surrounded Reids life when he was surpassed in the man hunt to find a replacement for Frank Arnold as the head basketball mentor at Brigham Young Univer- sity. But like an Olympic athlete who is possessed beyond description in winning a gold medal, Reid picked himself up and though he crawled for a few days afterward, is just as ready today for the next challenge as he was the day he came to BYU six years ago. THE FOLLOWING is his interview with the Davis County Clippers Keith Duncan. CLIPPER: Where do you go from here Ro- ger, after being surpassed in the final moments as the next BYU basketball coach? REID: The main thing at this point and time when a major decision has just been made of the magnitude of selecting the next basketball coach at BYU, you dont walk away being unselected unless youre a little depressed and youre feelings are hurt. Maybe I feel that way because Ive felt Ive worked hard in the five years Ive been here. Maybe the public hasnt perceived and cant see some of the things Ive done behind the scenes like being the head recruiter for this program the past five years. Weve got some outstanding players here that Ive felt Ive been very instrumental in recruiting. So the thing that depresses me the most is that I wont have the chance to coach those players that I recruited. Those kids are outstanding players not only on the court, but off of it and I felt we would have been very suc- cessful. But that decision was not made in my behalf and the administration has given me a position as assistant head basketball coach which carries a lot more clout than before. It also carried with it a nice big raise. Right now I look toward the future. Ive in athletics long enough to know frustrations and defeats. But right now I look forward to helping Coach Anderson in any way I can. been involved CLIPPER: What kind of relationship have you had with Coach Anderson, do you know him well? i REID: Right from the beginning, Ladell had was named told our administration that if he the head coach, he wanted me as his assistant. He had enough confidence in my abilities and had known enough about me through my coaching experiences. In fact through the conversations Ive had with him, he was very intrigued with the things my high school teams had done, the fact we excelled with relatively little talent. He watched our teams play and was very impressed. So though our relationship hasnt been very intimate, he has known about me. One thing I do remember as a high school player myself, was his coaching days at Utah State when he had such players as Cornell Green, Darrell Haney, LeRoy Walker; Wayne Estes and all the rest. I always respected him. coach here, the thing I witnessed which is dear to my heart, was learning the friendships I really have. Becoming the head coach wasnt half as important as seeing the friendships Ive got rise to the surface. Hundreds of people went out of their way to support me. Honestly, Keith, for three weeks my phone would start ringing from 6 oclock in the morning till 1:30 at night. It rang constantly, I couldnt even sit down on a chair. Every- - one wanted to know what they could do behalf. To me thats what life is all about. in my Its ser- and feeling for one another. Thats more important to me personally than being the head vice at BYU. coach People came through during that time 1 had idea I w'as that close to. An important thing for me was to see the number of players I'd coached in seven years of high school basketball, that supported me. Calls came from them all over the nation. Im sure some of them disagreed with some of my philosophies while we were together, but by in large everyone of those teams voiced their support to either me or to the administration. That's why I coach, because I love the young men 1 work for and I know if I've helped them become somewhat successful, 1 feel good about it. no CLIPPER: Im sure it was a tough decision for the administration to name a new coach, wasnt it? CLIPPER: Do you ever stop learning about basketball, is there a time when experience is outweighed? REID: No doubt about it. They deliberated for a long time, it wasnt a snap decision. They perceived some things that maybe I didnt because of my feelings knowing I was prepared for the job and could have done the things that this university and church wanted. I had the confidence I could have done them. REID: You're always learning and if you're youre doomed for failure. However I think at times that experience is too much overrated. There is a time experience is outweighed. For instance I can tell you everything today that Bobby Knight does from to the end and the same with practice No. Dean Smith. As far as the x's and o's of basketball, thats not what coaching is all about. The best way I can say this is to describe a doctor who has gone to school for eight years. You allow that doctor to operate and save you in life and death manners. Ive been involved in coaching 13 years now and I firmly believe I could have done the job that needed to be done five years ago as far as having the right kind of not, However at this point and time, they saw some immediate things that had to be done for the basketball program. 1 The reason Brigham Young has so fine an athletic program is because of the administrators. Glen Tuckett, the athletic administrator, is outstanding in every way. Our president is an avid a basketball and athletic fan as youll find. They made their decision on what they felt was right for this university, and I have to accept that. program. Theres a CLIPPER: How about the players? The summer had to be the best thing for them to get away and unwind and get ready for the next school year. . time when experience stops and the case of a doctor, they feel eight years is enough time to operate on people and Ill tell you what, basketball half that serious. REID: No question about that. Our players have gone through a lot of trauma through the ordeal of Frank Arnolds resignation and the naming of a new coach. youve isnt CLIPPER: To bring the helped bring to BYU, scribe The thing I feel very positive about is the thing a basketball coach strives for more than any one thing, and thats to have the respect and love of your players. There wasnt a player or parent here that didnt give me 100 percent support. Theyre grown men and theyre looking toward the future. I believe theyre looking forward to playing for Coach Anderson. Our staff is outstanding and I feel they appreciate that. kind of players how do you de- your salesmanship? REID: Weve got a great product here at and sometimes its easy to sell it because of the facilities and academic standards. But in college coaching, recruiting is the lifeblood. The thing I try to get across, is what do the kids want out of life? What kind of achievements do they want? We can help them, they can help us, but in return we can give them future successes they want to accomplish. Thisbusiness of recruiting players isnt selling buildings or facilities, but its getting the young man to see he can improve his life personally through coming to this university. Roger Reid will continue to succeed, mainly because he wants to. Behind him all the way, has been his family who were as sorry as many were, that it wasnt time for him to step into the head position over BYU basketball. His wife Diane was a trooper through it all according to Coach Reid. Ryan 12, Robbie 8, Darren 4 and Kelly Ann 3 all would have liked to have seen theirdaddy become the head coach, but theyll be patient for that significant day in the future. BYU " P' m The feeling is good and unified. Ive had a personal chat with every basketball player and were looking forward to the future. liiw0m ' " " 4, "v" - - 'Cx ' 7? V : - . v CLIPPER: What about the people who supported you through the time the coaching decision was being made? REID: Probably other than the death of my son, the most traumatic experience of my life was going through the ordeal of looking forward to being the head basketball coach. More important than ever being the head ready for the job. In youre Depression flooded Roger Reids life once the announcement was made who would succeed Frank Arnold as the next BYU basketball coach. But the former Clearfield High coach has picked up the pieces and is undoubtedly ready for the next challenge. Hell be involved very soon in BYUs summer basketball camps for youth. Loves His Baseball - Baseball and Dean Vernon go LAYTON like thaws and floods, but fortunlate together ately the former duo make a lot better news than do the latter. VERNON WOULD probably shrivel up and blow away if you took his summer baseball away. The former Clearfield High baseball star who later went on to make news with Snow College, has now worked himself into the lead man position of Laytons American Legion program. What makes things so cozy for the Layton team, is that Vernon loves his new role as a coach. Though he still finds time to work eight hours a day as a draftsman, plays two nights a week for the Beehive team in Clearfield and one more night on a softball team, he cant quite contain the enthusiasm of leading the kids who will someday make up the heart of the Layton High baseball program. Dean Vernon leads the Layton American Legion show. ASIDE FROM the fact Vernon just lives the game, perhaps the motivation that led him to accept the coaching position was his younger brothers participation as a key member of the summer club. Young Bart, wholl be a junior this fall, is playing the catcher position just like Dean did during his days as a Falcon. And the player either, younger brother isnt a half-ba- d in fact hes been a key figure in the Legion teams summer success. But Vernon, who got a positive nod from Layton Highs Brad Hawkins for the summer job, distinctively wants to see everyone of his kids have a fun and produntive time during the teams schedule. Said Dean, For be playing at Layton next spring, their season is made right here. Weve got a young squad, but they need to forget theyre two years younger than anyone else and look for the challenge to hit good pitching. The opportunity to be a better ballplayer is there. 23-ga- those kids that will Afl p h I "" ' ( IT IS TRUE that the majority of the Layton players are going to be juniors next fall, but Vernon will also have some strength and experience mixed in with all of that. Some of that strength will and has already come from Kenny Heath who wrapped up three very successful seasons as a Layton catcher. Another will be Brett Talbot who enjoyed his finest season in baseball as a senior for Layton this spring. Still another will be the graduated Craig Kennedy. And yet another will be Brad Hawkins little brother, Jamie, who played his high school baseball at Bonne- I p ' . J . Im... SSI! .. A ville. 1 1 X - 1 1 V1 v. - CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE v : 1 ' "'ll v Wlllllii 4-- The decisive victors over the Royals was put in the bag by Heath who clouted a seventh inning grand slam home run over the centerficld fence. The Legion schedule will feature teams this summer from Ogden, Ben Lomond, Brigham V : AS OF LAST Friday night, Vernons summer Legion squad had split four games, beating Roy that evening 3 and Clearfield previously. "'!. ' MW ' X' X"-- ., r4 X'" . Dean's, little brother Bart, is the summer club's catcher. |