Executive director Steve Witty represented the IBCA at the National High School Basketball Coaches Association (NHSBCA) conference in Wisconsin in July 2012 to share ideas and help the association continue to organize.
This organization was developed as a result of a meeting held in Indianapolis in 2004. Besides Indiana, representatives from Texas, Ohio, New York, Michigan and Wisconsin were in attendance at that meeting.
The mission of the organization is to unite high school basketball coaches across the country, to promote the game and/or empower the high school coaching profession.
Every high school coach who joins his/her state’s high school coaches association automatically becomes a member of the National High School Basketball Coaches Association.
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) officially recognizes the NHSBCA. The NABC also allows a high school representative on its congress and offers a reduced-price membership to the NABC (from $70 to $29.50) for all high school coaches who are members of his/her high school state coaches association.
During its 2012 summer meeting, the NHSBCA hired David Ginsberg as its first executive director. Ginsberg is from Michigan, is a retired administrator and former high school and college coach.
Louis Stout, president of the Amateur Athletic Union and former commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association, spoke. His main message was that AAU is not the enemy of high school basketball and that there is more common ground between AAU coaches and high school coaches than we realize. (Stout, 73, passed away on Sept. 9 after becoming ill in August.)
A deal was worked out with the Winning Hoops group to provide the “Play of the Day” to every high school-member coach. As most of you know, this now is a feature on the IBCA website.
It also was decided to organize a National Rising Senior Tournament to be held in Indianapolis in July 2013. At this time, 12 states are committed to this event. More information on this event will be coming soon.
The NHSBCA officers include Greg Grantham, president, North Carolina; David Archer, past president, New York; Steve Witty, vice president/treasurer, Indiana; Rich Czeslawski, communications director, Illinois.
As more states become involved with the NHSBCA, we hope to gain an even louder voice with the NCAA, the NABC, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and others for the betterment of high school basketball.
Go to www.nhsbca.org to learn more about the organization and other benefits available to high school coaches.
