Matt Smith, girls’ basketball coach at Hixson High School, will host the first Southeastern Tennessee Basketball Coaches Clinic on Saturday.
The hoop coaches in the area apparently think Smith has come up with a great idea.
Pre-registration has surpassed all of Smith’s expectations and that number could yet swell with the opportunity for interested coaches to sign up for the one-day clinic at Hixson High School on Saturday morning.
“Right now I have 67 coaches preregistered,” Smith said in an e-mail response to an update request from Chattanoogan.com.
“Hopefully, I believe our numbers will be close to 80 with coaches registering as they arrive.
“My goal for this year was 50 coaches and we have easily surpassed that number. I am already thinking about next year’s clinic.”
Smith, who scheduled the clinic on Saturday because Tennessee doesn’t have a college football game, has lined up Tennessee-Chattanooga men’s and women’s basketball coaches Will Wade and Jim Foster, who has made 27 career NCAA tournament appearances. Wade was the 2014 Southern Conference Coach of the Year.
Also on tap are Tommy Brown and Marty Rowe, men’s and women’s coaches at Lee University.
Rounding out the list of instructors are Rick Torbett, former high school coach in Chattanooga and Atlanta and now the president of the Better Basketball Academy based in Laurel, Md., and Tim Rice, former coach and president of Basketball Mentoring in Austin, Texas.
Smith says the instruction will not be limited to classroom lectures and will include on-court demonstrations for each session.
The clinic fee is $55 and includes lunch and door prizes and will be geared to coaches that range from middle school to college. It will run from 7:30 a.m. to 5:45 p.m.
“With the college season right around the corner, every college coach is extremely busy,” Smith said. “I am very thankful to all the coaches who are donating their time and energy to the clinic.
“I am very passionate about basketball; I love this city and hope to host this clinic for many years to come. I truly believe every middle school coach should attend the clinic. This is an excellent clinic and I think coaches will leave looking forward to next year’s clinic.”
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com) and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)