Going into his 11th season at Whitworth, men’s basketball head coach Jim Hayford is ready for another great year.
He arrived here in 1999. Since then the team has appeared four times in the NCAA tournament, won three Northwest Conference titles and Hayford himself has won three NWC Coach of the Year awards.
He chose to come to Whitworth because he wanted to coach at an academically strong school; he also loved the Christian aspect of education, he said.
“For me there is no better school. [Whitworth] allows me that freedom of expressing my faith with the players and it has such a strong commitment to academics,” Hayford said.
Before he was head coach here, Hayford was the head coach at the University of Sioux Falls. Before that he was an assistant coach at Azusa Pacific University in California.
Hayford graduated from Azusa Pacific in 1989 with a degree in social science and then went on to earn his M.A. of Education from Claremont Graduate University in 1991.
When he is not coaching, he loves spending time with his family. He has a daughter who is in college and a son who is in sixth grade. He and his wife love to golf in Spokane, he said.
Being a basketball coach is a huge passion of Hayford’s.
“I feel like you have an opportunity to not just teach but mentor, and really get to know a small group of students and give them an experience that will propel them into success,” Hayford said.
His favorite part about being a coach at Whitworth is being able to go to the weddings of former players and to see them grow up and become fathers. His favorite memory of coaching is when Whitworth got its first NCAA win in 2007.
The biggest influence on his coaching style has been former Whitworth athletic director Scott McQuilkin, Hayford said.
“He was really helpful in showing the balance between the competitive side and the developmental side of coaching,” Hayford said.
Hayford uses that philosophy when coaching the Pirates. This year he has high hopes for his team.
“We have a very good team but we have a lot of new pieces and putting it together so it will be a successful team and compete for a division championship is the challenge,” he said.
His goal for the individual players is for them to be the best that they can be and reach their potential.
The Pirates’ first home game of the season will be on Friday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. in the Fieldhouse against UC Santa Cruz.
Contact Julia Bechtold at julia.bechtold@whitworthian.com.
Coach inspired by close community
Published: Monday, December 7, 2009
Updated: Monday, December 7, 2009
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