Every college coach worries about his or her players getting into trouble. One reason is that they want their athletes to remain eligible. The other is that they come to think of their players as their own kids, so it’s natural to want to watch over them. While most coaches probably keep track by placing phone calls and having team meetings, Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball coach Steve Eck takes it to another level.
Eck sometimes spends nights at the college dorm rooms to keep an eye on his players. How do we know this? Let’s just say if he didn’t, we might have a burglar on the loose in Kansas right now. On Tuesday, Eck walked in on someone stealing stuff from the dorms and, with the help of an off-duty firefighter, helped chase the crook down. Check out this snippet from the Wichita Eagle via Off the Bench:
The firefighter sustained minor injuries after helping Eck tackle a man suspected of burglarizing Eck’s HCC dorm room, where the coach sometimes stays the night to keep an eye on his players, according to Hutchinson Police Detective Thad Pickard.”
That’s what we call a coach who cares. As Off the Bench pointed out, Eck has a record of 222-52 at the junior college level and 650-86 overall. A coach who wins consistently and plays the role of father for his players? He’s got my vote.
