UBC Reports | Vol.
51 | No. 6 |
Jun. 2, 2005
By Brenda Austin
Kevin Hanson, UBC head coach, men’s basketball, has
a master’s degree in coaching science from the School
of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Education. He uses his expertise
in sports psychology to motivate athletes, plan game strategies
and to promote individual development as well as team cohesion.
He was head coach for the Canadian Men’s National
Development Basketball Team, which competes in the World University
Games, when he first met Pasha Bains, who tried out for the
team in 2003.
“It was a dream of his to become an elite basketball
player,” Hanson says of Bains, who has helped lead the
UBC Thunderbirds to several successful seasons. “Once
he was at UBC, we had a natural connection as he became interested
in taking a master’s degree in coaching science.”
For his part, Bains says Hanson is a mentor for many athletes.
“We call him Father Hanson,” he says, “and
he’s taken me under his wing. We have long, long talks.
I want to be a professional basketball player for a few years
and my long-term goal is coaching.”
Bains and fellow UBC basketball player Chad Clifford run
camps and youth programs in which they pass on some of the
techniques in sports psychology they have learned from coach
Hanson.
The camps are for Grade 3 to 12 students and form a tremendous
network for training and recruiting players for university,
according to Hanson. They also provide exceptional experience
for Bains, who will continue course work for his master’s
program in human kinetics next fall, with Hanson acting as
an advisor for his thesis and his directed study.
Bains has also been a teaching assistant for Hanson as well
as head instructor for some of Hanson’s UBC summer basketball
camps.
University basketball coaches identify and recruit players
on an ongoing basis provincially, nationally and internationally,
says Hanson, trying to get the best athletes.
“The annual mentoring-recruiting day in May, hosted
by the men’s basketball team, pulls all the efforts
together to welcome and orient the new students to UBC,”
says Hanson.
Men’s basketball at UBC benefits from external mentors,
too. David McLean, a strong supporter of UBC basketball, hosts
a golf tour in Whistler, which raises money for men’s
basketball athletes and increases the number of scholarships
available. All money raised through this event goes into the
David McLean Men’s Basketball Scholarship Endowment
fund.
David Nelson, a UBC academic and basketball alumnus, hosts
a retreat for the men’s basketball team at his summer
property in Roberts Creek which features an outdoor basketball
court. The retreat allows players to meet alumni in a wide
variety of professions and occupations.
“Playing basketball, the students learn a lot of life
skills, too,” Hanson says, “working with different
types of people, getting along with everyone and managing
the psychology of the game.”
