Looking at the Husky basketball bench, Coach Mark Risen will be one foot on the court, yelling with a voice that can be heard over all but the loudest crowds.
Assistant Coach Tim Little is there too, but he’s quiet and calm. If he weren’t that way, he thinks the athletes might “overload” as they feed on intensity and enthusiasm.
That’s part of what helped make Coach Little the Aflac Insurance and Scholastic Coach and Athletic Director magazine Assistant Coach of the Year.
“An honor like this, it makes you feel really good to get noticed for the stuff you do,” Coach Little said.
Coach Little has been working with Coach Risen since he accepted a position teaching PE and health at Sweet Home Junior High School. He will start his fifth full basketball season with the Huskies in November.
Coach Little joined the Huskies as the freshman coach, spending two years there after working on the summer program, and succeeded Jason Gorham as JV coach, where he has been for the last two years.
Coach Little played basketball in high school in Idaho and then for Eastern Oregon University. He didn’t play his senior year in college. Instead, his coach helped him get on as a junior high coach. He also coached in La Grande for a year.
Coach Little earned his bachelor’s in PE and health from Eastern in 1996 and went straight to work for School District 55, filling retiring teacher Doug Peargin’s position.
He had no ideas about coaching in Sweet Home when he arrived, Coach Little said. “I just went to Mark as soon as I got the chance. They had an opening. First thing that went through my mind, it was hard to believe the dedication and commitment that he had just toward being successful.”
Coach Little had extensive experience and playing and working with coaches, he said. “There’s a lot of college coaches that don’t do as much as he does or teach as much.”
Coach Little has enjoyed his experience with Coach Risen, but what keeps him coming are “the kids, number one,” he said. “Year after year, it’s a whole new experience. The kids are always great. You just build some awesome bonds with them.”
Number two, “my individual goals, where I want to be in the next five or 10 years, I know this is definitely a step in the right direction,” Coach Little said. “I want my own program.”
That could lead elsewhere, Coach Little said. “I don’t see Mark leaving, (but) I love Sweet Home. I love the kids.”
Coach Little has two goals, teaching high school students and heading up his own high school program.
“Don’t underestimate Tim for a second,” Coach Risen said. “Tim is an exceptional strategist. He’s remarkable at looking how to change the big picture of the game.”
He understands specific situations on the court, and he’s a tireless worker, Coach Risen said. During basketball season, Coach Little is often up till 2 a.m. with Coach Risen reviewing film and working even harder than Coach Risen.
In approach, coaches Little and Risen are opposites.
“I think it’s great,” Coach Little said. “You need both. It’s not to say one coaching style is wrong and one is right.”
The two styles are good for the athletes, Coach Little said. “They would overload if I wasn’t under Risen, they’d be so amped up.”
“I am overtly intense where Coach Little is covertly intense, so I think we compliment each other well,” Coach Risen said.
“Me, like a duck above the water, it’s nice and calm,” Coach Little said. “Underwater, it’s going crazy.”
“I think that these personalities are a good thing because it allows us to deal with kids in different ways,” Coach Risen said. “Some kids need that spark, and some kids need someone to speak quietly to them.”
It surprises players when the two switch roles once in awhile, Coach Risen said.
“As far as my basketball career, it’s been the most positive thing that’s happened to me.”
Coach Little said he has learned more coaching under Coach Risen than he did playing the game. He also has learned how to help sell the players the connection from playing basketball to important life skills, an emphasis of Coach Risen’s program.
Coach Risen gave Coach Little an opportunity, and Coach Little’s been able to develop his own philosophies.
Before working with Coach Risen, Coach Little knew the game, he said, but knowing the game doesn’t mean someone can coach it.
“He’s helped me put all that together,” Coach Little said.
“The greatest thing Tim brings … is his character,” Coach Risen said. “Tim is not only a colleague but a best friend.”
In every context of his life, Coach Little is a good role model, Coach Risen said. He is an impeccable friend, teacher and coach.
“To have a guy around five to six years of the caliber Tim is, is a real privilege for us,” Coach Risen said. “I’m sure glad he’s still here. He’s an incredible asset to us.”
Coach Little was one of 254 coaches selected from more than 300,000 applications in an award that covers all sports. He received a plaque and letter, and his name appeared in the magazine.
Coach Little grew up in a town just south of Boise, Idaho, where he played high school basketball. Like the Class of 1999 team, Coach Little’s team placed second his junior year and fourth his senior year at state. He graduated from high school in 1992.
Coach Little considered himself a decent basketball player and was happy to have the opportunity to play at two and three guard in college.