Clear Lake Falconhoops

Birthday: June 24

Coached at Cameron, San Marcos, Clear Creek, and Clear Lake
State Championship at San Marcos 1965
State Championship at Clear Lake 1989
District Record of 87.4% wins
18 seasons of 30+ wins
coached 39 years

HONORS
National High School Hall of Fame 1997
Texas High School Hall of Fame 1991
Clear Lake High School Hall of Fame 1991
Chosen National Coach of the Year
Texas High School Coach of the Year (twice)
District Outstanding Coach of the Year (29 times)
Outstanding Coach (Houston Metropolitan area) twice
Recognized in Sports Illustrated (twice)
Featured in Sports Illustrated - 1996 "Winningest Coach In The Nation"
Distinguished Alumni Award - Southwest Texas State University
Hall of Honor - Southwest Texas State University
Vice President of Senior Class - SWTSU 1957
Selected All School favorite - SWTSU - 1957
All Central Texas High School Selection (football one year, basketball three years)
Retired as the winningest coach in the nation (1096-250, 81.4% wins) in January 1996.

(See newspaper article on Field House deication on "General Information" Page).

As of November 2010 Bill Krueger is the sixth winningest coach in the USA behind:
1. Robert Hughes - Fort Worth Terrell and Dunbar; 1333-265 (83.4%) in 47 years
2. Morgan Wootten - DeMatha HS, Hyattsville, Maryland; 1274-192 (86.9%) in 46 years
3. Ralph Tasker - Sulphur Springs, Ohio, Lovington and Hobbs, New Mexico; 1122-291 (79.4%) in 57 years.
    Four of the top 10 highest scoring teams in U.S. history played for Tasker. 
4. Clyde Carlisle - Clarksville Texas,  1103-317 (40 years)
5. Sammie Koudelka - Moulton, Texas. 1101-381 (40 years)
6. Bill Krueger 1096-250; 39 years  

Notice four of the top six most successful winning coaches in the nation are from Texas.

You can purchase the national record book at http://www.nfhs.org/content.aspx?id=3230

(by Don Wilkerson)
One of the important lessons we should learn along life’s journey is the value of commitment - when to commit, how selective to be, what it means to make a commitment to something, and then the integrity required to live up to an honest commitment. This article addresses the commitment required for the high school basketball player but it applies to any athlete.

There are many hours of hard work and dedication required to participate and excel in any sport. Early on, as a small child, it starts out as fun but over time it also turns into hard work. By the time a youngster gets to high school there are many demands placed on him or her. Their love, satisfaction, and enjoyment of a sport compel them to make it one of the many priorities that must be juggled to be successful.

Becoming part of a high school basketball team requires a serious commitment, a personal commitment that you will strive to do your best while placing the needs of the team above your personal needs. To work together to achieve a common goal that can only be accomplished together and to derive satisfaction and reward from the achievement of the team is a selfless, far reaching objective. It is not just about having fun playing basketball. Some young people learn this sooner than others.

Achieving the status of playing a varsity sport, any sport, in a large high school today is a very significant accomplishment. You have become “the best of the best”. But once you have risen to be among the elite, a new struggle occurs to compete in a more elite circle.

In basketball, as in almost any endeavor, success ultimately depends on a player’s God-given talent, hard work, willingness to sacrifice to achieve the team’s goals, and commitment to the team and one's own objectives.

Most seasons there is a player (or players) who spends most of his or her time at games watching the game from the bench instead of playing in the game. This player is known as a bench warmer. They show up on time for every practice, they work just as hard as anyone in practice, they sacrifice their body and get hurt just as much, but they hardly ever get to play in the game (and they usually never complain). However, without them the team would be incomplete. In practice, the team might not be able to run the drills and learn the precision plays required for the team’s success. Without the bench warmer, his or her teammates are limited in developing their skills to the maximum. It is a mistake to underestimate the value of the bench warmer.

Why does a person do this? There is little or no glory in watching others reap the ultimate rewards of playing in the game. They seldom receive the praise and recognition typical of the team’s more outstanding players. Yet they are there ready when called upon. They are there because of the love of the game and because they made a commitment to their team which they are fulfilling. This speaks loudly about a young person’s character. For many of them, the thought of quiting the team never occurs.

There are few valid acceptable reasons for a person to quit a team after the school year starts and the team is formed. Personal tragedy, personal hardship, and relocation come to mind. By the time one reaches an age to play a sport in high school, one who will quit a team after the season starts, because it is no longer fun, or they do not get to play enough, or they do not get to start, or they dislike or disagree with a coach, is turning their back on an important commitment they made. To do this at any age requires close examination. To do this at an early age is very unwise. These people are called “quitters”. Show me someone who will quit the team for these reasons, and I will show you someone who very likely may be a quitter throughout their lives.

In all the years of watching high school basketball there have been very few quitters on the varsity level at Clear Lake High School. In almost every case, after just a short time, the person had strong regrets about quitting the team, regrets that will be with them for the remainder of their lives.

Generally, bench warmers tend to be successful in life. They have demonstrated an ability to make an honest commitment and they have the integrity to follow through and live up to their commitments. They work harder because they know what it is like to be at the back of the pack and they tend to strive to avoid it. As a result of their team experiences, they understand the value of teamwork and they often have a better understanding of the dynamics of forming a successful team and the steps required to insure the successful accomplishment of the team’s objectives. They also tend to place greater emphasis on the satisfaction that comes from a team achieving its ultimate goals. They seem to cope better with intolerable bosses. These are very valuable assets in the real world. Later in life bosses (coaches) tend to recognize and reward such performance.

It is a mistake to underestimate the value of the bench warmer.

These rules changes are supplied by the nfhs official web site. To access the site, click on the link above. For the season beginning November 2005, below are the rules changes with the affected section numbers listed. JERSEYS/PANTS/SKIRTS PROHIBITED FROM BEING REMOVED (3-4-15, 10-3-7h, 10-4-1i): A team member is prohibited from removing his/her jersey and/or pants/skirt within the confines of the playing area. The penalty is a technical foul. The former uniform rule didn’t require team members to actually wear the team uniform. This addition also addresses a growing behavioral concern of players removing their jerseys to demonstrate frustration or anger and as a means of attracting individual attention. The rule is intended to be applied in all situations – even when a player must change uniforms due to blood or other unusual circumstances. It is not unreasonable to expect team members to go to their locker rooms to change their jerseys. THROW-IN AWARDED TO OPPONENT FOR ALL TEAM-CONTROL FOULS (7-5-5, 4-19-7): A new definition for a team-control foul has been established, and the penalty has been changed to a throw-in in all cases. The ball will be awarded to the offended team at a spot nearest to where the foul occurred. Bonus free throws will no longer be awarded. The change makes enforcement of the rule easier for officials. Under the previous rule it was sometimes difficult to determine whether: (a) a player in control had released the ball on a pass or interrupted dribble before the player charges; and (b) a player had received a pass before the player charges. The change makes the penalty consistent for a player-control foul and a team-control foul. In addition, the change reduces delays in the game. The rule only applies when a foul occurs by the team in control. By rule, there is no team control during a throw-in, jump ball or when the ball is in flight during a try or tap for goal. PENALTY FOR DOUBLE FOULS CHANGED TO POINT OF INTERRUPTION (7-5-9, 4-36): The penalty for double personal, double technical and simultaneous fouls has been changed from an alternating-possession throw-in to resuming play from the point of interruption. A new definition of “point of interruption” has also been added to the rules book. If the point of interruption cannot be determined e.g., unsuccessful try in flight, the alternating-possession arrow will be used. The committee felt that no team should benefit from a double foul. Under the previous rule, if the alternating-possession arrow favored the defense, the defense would be awarded the ball, benefiting from the foul act. It is hoped that the change will increase the likelihood of double fouls being called when warranted. LEAVING COURT FOR UNAUTHORIZED REASON CHANGED TO VIOLATION (9-3-2): The rule for leaving the court for an unauthorized reason has been changed from a technical foul to a violation. Leaving the court during the course of play has been increasing with the former penalty of a technical foul not being assessed. Typically, this play is seen when an offensive player goes around a low screen, runs outside the end line and returns on the other side of the court free of their defender. The violation will be called as soon as the player leaves the court. The committee hopes that changing the penalty will increase the likelihood of the infraction being called and eliminate this tremendous advantage. --------- 2005-06 Major Editorial Changes 4-19-3: Clarified the definition of an intentional foul. 5-2-1: Clarified when a three-point goal shall be scored. 10-4-4 New, 10-5: A new article was added to 10-4 clarifying when bench personnel may stand. Section 10-5 was reorganized to clarify the head coaches' rule. 2005-06 Points of Emphasis 1. Sporting Behavior 2. Free Throws 3. Intentional Fouls ________________________________________ 1. Sporting Behavior. The NFHS Basketball Rules Committee continues to be concerned with player, coach and fan behavior. While administrators continue to focus on solutions, it is imperative that all parties involved accept responsibility and improve behavior. Specifically, the committee wants the following addressed: A. Uniforms: Players are increasingly using their uniforms in unsporting ways. Examples include: Holding the uniform out from the chest area to display the team name to the opponent or fans; pulling the uniform out of the shorts in an emotional display; and removing the jersey either on the court or near the team bench, especially after a disqualification. The committee expects jerseys to be worn properly and remain on. New Rule 3-4-15 adds, “A player shall not remove the jersey and/or pants/skirt in the confines of the playing area.” The result is a technical foul. Uniforms must be worn as intended and the rule must be enforced. The jersey must be tucked in and shorts must be worn properly. When a player is in violation of the rule, the player is directed to leave the game. While an untucked jersey during the normal course of play is understandable until it can be corrected, too often there are multiple warnings for clear violations. Coaches bear a great responsibility in ensuring uniforms stay on team members. Officials must enforce the rule. B. Time-outs: When a team goes on a scoring run, emotions often run high. Nationwide, there is an apparent increase in bench personnel running out onto the court after a time-out is whistled. Typically, the bench personnel of the team that has gained momentum run out onto the court to celebrate and congratulate their teammates. The other team’s players, heading toward their bench area, often cross with the celebrating team. This situation often leads to bumping, pushing and/or taunting. Coaches must make sure that bench personnel remain in the team bench area (1-13-3) after a time-out is called. Officials must be aware of the potential for confrontation, use preventive officiating techniques and penalize appropriately. C. Spectators: There has been emphasis over the years on player and coach behavior and the trends show improvement. However, fan behavior remains a critical concern. Too often, fans are using abusive language toward coaches, players and officials. Fans are also approaching the court, team areas and locker rooms – places that used to be “off limits” – to confront participants. Game administrators must create and follow security procedures and support efforts to have offending fans removed from the premises. Proactive policies lead to fewer problems. It is the game administrator’s ultimate responsibility to provide a safe environment for players, coaches and officials. Do not wait for the official to point out the problem. If it gets to the point that the officials have to address fan behavior, there were most likely opportunities for game administrators to deal with it before it got to that point. Officials should never directly confront fans. Find the game administrator to take care of the problem. In extreme cases, delay the game until the offending fan is removed. Coaches must not incite fan behavior. The coach’s sideline actions often have an impact on fan behavior – positively or negatively. Schools are encouraged to have security personnel on site for such situations. D. Coaching box: The committee wants coaches to stay in the coaching box. There is a constant problem when coaches wander. It is a distinct advantage to the coach who is permitted to be out of the box because the coach has a better chance to communicate with his/her team. The coach can also influence play by being out on the court. The rule is black-and-white, but it has not been dealt with properly. Most officials have not enforced the rule. The fact that the coach is not directing comments to the officials or is “coaching the team” has no bearing on rule enforcement. The coach who continually abuses the coaching-box rule risks having his or her governing body remove it completely. The official who doesn’t enforce it runs the risk of not following what the governing body wants enforced. Once the coaching box has been removed because of a technical foul, all related rules restrictions must apply. There’s no way to get the box back after the privilege has been lost. Assistant coaches must be seated at all times except during time-outs, to attend to an injured player after being beckoned and to spontaneously react to a play. The rules that permit a head coach to rise in certain situations (time-outs, confer with table personnel for a correctable error, dealing with disqualifications) do not apply to assistant coaches under any circumstances. Again, the fact that an assistant coach is “only coaching” has no bearing on the rule or enforcement. Head coaches have the responsibility to remain in the box. School administrators must support that by demanding their coaches do so. When violated, the official must enforce the rule with a technical foul. 2. Free Throws. A. Lane spaces. There has been much debate on what — if anything — to do with free-throw situations. Some want rules that would move players up on the low block or even eliminate the first lane space. The theory: The players underneath the basket are at a rebounding disadvantage. Data collected from a variety of sources does not support that theory. Multiple studies show players in the first marked lane space garner roughly 75-80 percent of all free throw rebounds. That is a range the rules committee finds acceptable and is consistent with historical norms. The team closest to the basket is supposed to get most of the rebounds! The rules in this case are not designed to give each team an equal chance or guarantee a rebound to the defense. B. Rough play. Keeping the block between players continues to serve its initial purpose. It reduces rough play. The same is true for player restrictions ending when the attempt hits the ring. Still, rough play is a concern. Coaches must not teach players to “lock up” arms along the lane line, nor drive players further under the basket with brute force. Officials must call those fouls. C. Disconcertion. Free-throw disconcertion must be carefully monitored. Of particular concern is when the free throw will become dead (first of two or first two of three). Defensive players often employ tactics which serve no other purpose than to disconcert the shooter during free throws (“boxing out” the free thrower off the free-throw line, waving arms, yelling instructions to teammates, etc.). Another increasing trend is opponents outside the arc saying things to the thrower. With team free-throw percentages hovering in the mid-60’s on average, teams welcome a second chance free throw. They deserve it if disconcertion occurs and officials must call it. 3. Intentional Fouls. The committee is concerned about how games end. The intentional foul rule has devolved into misapplication and personal interpretations. The committee has revised the rule to improve understanding. An intentional foul is a personal or technical foul that neutralizes an opponent’s obvious advantageous position. Contact away from the ball or when not making a legitimate attempt to play the ball, specifically designed to stop or keep the clock from starting, shall be intentional. Intentional fouls may or may not be premeditated and are not based on the severity of the act. A foul also shall be ruled intentional if while playing the ball a player causes excessive contact with an opponent. A. Anytime in the game. Acts that neutralize an opponent’s obvious advantageous position and must be deemed intentional include: • Excessive contact on any player attempting a shot • Grabbing or shoving a player from behind when an easy basket may be scored • Grabbing and holding a player from behind or away from the ball These are “non-basketball” plays and must be considered intentional fouls anytime they occur during a game. B. Late in the game. Fouling is an accepted coaching strategy and is utilized by nearly all coaches in some form. It is viewed as a chance for a team behind in the score to get back in the game while the clock is stopped. There is widespread belief that it works or it wouldn’t be coached. There is a right way and a wrong way to foul. Coaches must instruct their players in the proper technique for strategic fouling. “Going for the ball” is a common phrase heard, but intentional fouls should still be called on players who go for the ball if it is not done properly. Conversely, a coach who yells, “Foul!” instructions to his or her team does not mean the ensuing foul is “automatically” an intentional foul — even though it is a strategic foul designed to stop the clock. Coaches, officials, players, fans and administrators must accept fouling as a legitimate coaching strategy. With that, officials must have the courage to enforce the intentional foul rule. Far too often, officials do not whistle fouls as intentional when the act clearly meets the criteria. Officiating philosophies should not change because of the time remaining in the game or the score differential. The correct call should be made — not the popular one.

Freshman B Team Coach

Coach Sanders is from Henderson, Texas. He attended Stephen F. Austin State University where he received a degree in Kinesiology. He has coached at Clear Lake High School for eight years. He coaches football and basketball.

"I have always wanted to coach because the children are our future. We must teach them well and let them lead the way".

SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IN ATHLETES – WHY TAKE THE CHANCE?
(Excerpt from the WALL STREET JOURNAL with comments added by D. Wilkerson( (This article was posted in June 2005)

From time to time we hear of a high school athlete who suddenly dies on the playing field or in the gym. Young athletes suffer sudden cardiac death at a rate thought to be two to three times as high as their less-active peers. Often the cause is hypertropic cardiomyopathy. HCM, as it is called for short, is a rare genetic abnormality that enlarges the left ventricle of the heart leading to sometimes fatal disturbances of the heart rhythm.

Few doctors in the United States suggest a young athlete undergo a heart scan which is required to detect the abnormality (HCM is a hidden heart defect that is not detected with a stethoscope). American medicine, despite being respected around the world for its all-out war on heart disease, does relatively little to detect problems or raise awareness of hidden congenital defects that suddenly kill young athletes. In American medicine, it is generally accepted that universal screening of young adults for heart abnormalities wouldn't be a good idea. Far too many healthy athletes would have to be screened to find a single defective heart, cardiologists say. U. S. cardiologists, instead of wide spread screening, favor efforts to raise awareness about the symptoms and risk factors, leading to testing of those at risk. They favor a focus on kids who have cardiac murmurs, fainting spells, chest pain, or shortness of breath, plus any who have had sudden cardiac death in their families. A simple inexpensive electrocardiogram (EKG) will flag most, but not all, cases of HCM. A new portable echocardiogram that cardiologists say is surprisingly effective is available today for under $60 and often as little as $35. A comprehensive echocardiogram that is excellent in detecting not only HCM but various other abnormalities costs around $900.

Little has been done to raise awareness of HCM among either front line physicians or the general public. One possible reason: Sudden death in adolescents falls outside the primary mission both of pediatric cardiologists, who treat children, and of adult cardiologists, who focus on the middle-aged and older. In cardiology, adolescence and young adulthood is a "no-man's land" says Robert Myerburg, director of cardiology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

In Japan doctors routinely give school children electrocardiograms, or EKGs, which can detect congenital heart defects that a stethoscope cannot. Italy gives EKGs to all youths who want to participate in competitive sports. The International Olympic Committee recently recommended that young athletes have EKGs every two years.

When a young athlete dies suddenly, local news outlets typically seek comment from doctors, who typically fail to mention that the main cause is detectable by an EKG. After reviewing dozens of applicable news stories, it seems that doctors who were quoted almost never mentioned that fact, the ability to treat HCM, or the common warning signs!

It appears that many doctors underestimate the frequency of sudden cardiac deaths in young athletes. No government agency keeps count. But Dr. Barry Maron, a Minneapolis cardiologist who is one of the world’s leading authorities on HCM, has been compiling news reports for a registry. So far, he says his count suggests there are between 200 and 300 sudden deaths in young athletes per year in the U.S. Most doctors are likely to say there are 100 or fewer. Some physicians cite the National Federation of High School Associations as saying there are only 10 and 25 per year. The federation says it has never characterized its statistics as complete. An even lower figure comes from the American Academy of Pediatrics whose members do many pre-participation sports physicals. The academy says on its web site that only 10 to 13 such sudden deaths are reported each year. Their source, the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research at the University of North Carolina says that 10 to 13 figure is too low and does not know where those numbers came from. The danger of understated numbers is that doctors think this isn’t something to worry about:”The wrong numbers have been very destructive”.

Without belaboring the point, regardless of whether your school’s pre-participation forms have several heart-related questions (most do not) or whether your cardiologist fails to appreciate shortness of breath or familial risk (many do not), there are steps you as a parent of an athlete can take to safeguard your child’s well being.

The steps required to address this problem include:
1.        Get your child an EKG prior to participation (and a simple inexpensive echocardiogram).
2.        Increase awareness by talking with your friends and parents of other athletes.
3.        Encourage your school system to place defibrillators in the high schools and have qualified personnel trained on their use available.
4.        Support the organization of clinics to provide free or low cost screening scans and encourage usage of the clinics. Turnout at these clinics nationally is dismally low probably due to lack of awareness.

With a few simple, inexpensive steps, responsible parents can possibly avoid the loss of one or more of their children. If mass screenings ever become the norm, the beneficiaries would not just be the occasional kid who’s found to have a cardiac defect and his or her siblings and parents (since HCM often runs in families), it would include scanning equipment makers and cardiologists to whom abnormal scans would be referred. Not to mention the spectators, teammates and coaches who would be spared from watching someone die needlessly.


Most of this article is an excerpt from The Wall Street Journal, Thursday, June 23, 2005.