December 14, 2010
By David Selig
The Winchester Star

WINCHESTER- As his son Jackson went through the various levels of youth basketball, Millbrook coach Scott Mankins promised his wife that, beyond being a fan, he wouldn't get involved.

But now Jackson is a high school junior and, as Mankins said, "I wasn't ready to step aside yet."

So, for the first time, Mankins will be coaching his son, and he's not the only one in the area.

The 2010-11 boys' basketball season will be like a father-son outing, as three Northwestern District coaches plus Clarke County's Brent Emmart will also go by the name dad to one of their players.

James Wood's Al Smith is in his third year coaching his son Mason, while Emmart will be coaching his son Ethan for a third season.

Skyline's Sonny Dyke has his son Ryan on the team for a second season.

And while Sherando's Garland Williams won't be coaching his son Isaiah this year, the freshman is a member of the Warriors' junior varsity team.

"I think that's one of those things as a father that you always think about one day coaching your son," Williams said. "But you have to handle it in a certain way. You have to keep basketball in the basketball place and keep home at home." Emmart has learned that. He's also found that, no matter how you handle it, people outside the program are going to raise questions.

"It's tough for the coach and the player, I think, because you're always under the microscope," said Emmart, whose son averaged 9.8 points last season and scored 29 in a win over Sherando Friday night. "I'm probably harder on my son than the other guys, but people are always going to be judgmental about what's going on."

Smith had a similar experience when he inserted his son into the starting lineup as a sophomore. Mason was actually booed by a section of the Colonels' own fans, who felt a senior was more deserving of the position.

But as Mason has developed into one of the area's top post players, those jeers have subsided, and Al Smith has also learned how to better balance his father/coach roles.

"You have to realize that you're not sitting around the dinner table with those other 11 guys, so when you leave the gym, you've got to leave some of that stuff there," said Smith, who noted that his junior varsity coach, Jeff Butler, also has a son on his team this winter.

Before the season, Mankins said he consulted some of his colleagues with sons in their programs, and while it's taken some getting used to, he doesn't foresee it affecting his team adversely.

"I think one drill he called me dad, and then the next drill five minutes later he called me coach," Mankins said. "So, I think he just wants to be treated like one of the guys, and so far it really hasn't been much of a thing."

With the father-son dynamic unlikely to have much of an impact on the teams' results, each area squad enters the season feeling it has a chance to be competitive.