Craig Newcomb of Bertrand Looks Back at His Coaching Career

By: Evan Jones

Coaching is one of those things that, for five minutes, I was interested in. Okay, maybe a little bit longer. During the summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I completed my practicum with Jimmy Blex, my high school coach at Cambridge. I really thought I wanted to be a coach. Everything with it went fine, I enjoyed it, but I lost interest in it. And now, covering sports for over 10 years, I don't think I would be cut out for it.

As I observe coaches doing everything they do, I have gained even more respect for the profession. What I'm getting at is, anyone who does it, let alone does it for decades, has a ton of respect from me. When coaches retire, it's a changing of the times, for the coach, the team, the school, and the community.

We reported back in the Winter Sports Season that this would be Bertrand Head Basketball Coach Craig Newcomb's final season coaching. He will continue in his role as the Athletic Director. 27 years at the helm of the Bertrand Boys Basketball Team. That's a long time. Newcomb collected over 300 wins in his career. Marcus Schwarz, Newcomb's longtime assistant, will take over the Bertrand Boys Basketball Program.

Newcomb isn't just a coach I have had a professional relationship with; I also have a personal one. My in-laws, Marlo and Jennifer Kaps, and Craig and his wife Trista Newcomb, are close friends.

So, that has meant many get-togethers for Husker Football games, family vacations, and so on. Craig and Trista were also the host and hostess for our Mackenzie and my wedding. With Craig's ties to Bartley and the Cambridge area, and, of course, Bertrand, where my wife is from, it made perfect sense.

I had the privilege of competing against Coach Newcomb's teams. Privilege, I use that word loosely. His teams always beat up our 1-3-1 defense, and he would always assign someone to me to prevent me from getting open shots.

Newcomb would tell you I was a flopper when I felt contact on my shot attempts. I’d argue that as a jump shooter like myself, people wouldn’t give me enough room to land and were boxing me out below the knees, and, I'll be honest, I may have sold a foul or two in my day and took advantage of the rules. That may be one thing we disagree on. All in good fun, of course.

At my graduation, Coach Newcomb made sure to tell me he didn’t care for how we decorated. Too much orange, he said. I can understand that with him being a Bartley guy and me being from Cambridge.

I always respected the way he did things when I was a player, and as a member of the media, I have continued to do so. Newcomb always got so much out of his teams. It impressed me. I know I’ve written it in an article and also have said it in an interview with Rich Barnett of High Plains Radio: You can count on a few things in life. Death, taxes, and Craig Newcomb having the Bertrand Vikings ready to go in the RPAC Basketball Tournament.

In the 1997-1998 school year, Newcomb was hired at Bertrand after spending a couple of years in Valentine.

Initially, he wasn't the Head Basketball Coach for Bertrand. "First year here, I had the wrestling program for one year, because they needed someone to fill that spot. And then the second year, 1998-1999, when I moved over to varsity basketball as head coach and have been there ever since," said Newcomb. Yes, you read that right, wrestling.

"That was available. They needed a coach. They needed someone to do it. So the business teacher that I had replaced had been the wrestling coach. And they had a guy from the community who was going to do the coaching. They just needed someone on staff to be the contact and the staff representative. So that's what they needed done. So I did it," added Newcomb.

Newcomb coached with Jeff Wilken for the wrestling program.

"I was basically the head coach on paper, but I was an assistant coach and just was there. And I guess I learned a lot. There's still stuff I remember from it. I can tell when someone's getting in a bad position, but I can't tell them how to get out of it," said Newcomb.

In the one year as a coach for wrestling, he had a state-runner-up finish, Shawn Hatfield, the father of Kayden Hatfield, whom Newcomb coached in basketball the last four years.

In the 2002-2003 school year, Newcomb became the AD and has been in that position since. Newcomb has had the privilege of coaching numerous successful teams, including some that are truly memorable.

"Obviously, this year's team won because it's one that just happened, but also, you know, they were a 20-win team. You know, it's been since probably the mid-nineties that we've had a 20-win team," said Newcomb.

Their record was 20-7.

"And a lot of that has to do with how close the team was this year. Marcus Hernandez did a lot as a leader, conducting numerous devotionals with the teams after practice. And I think that helped them become a closer team, just gave them more trust on the court, not just outside the court," added Newcomb.

"Obviously, in 2015, the team that qualified for state, Jake Samuelson was a senior on that team. They just did a great job for us on both ends of the court. In 2001, we still won the RVL at that time...And then, of course, the first team we had in 98-99. Mike Ford was a player on that team who is now coaching at Alma. And so, just throughout a lot of the players, some of them I still see around from time to time, and some still live in the community. So, just a lot of memories over those 27 years," added Newcomb.

Newcomb received a book following the season. It was a gift that Trista put together with the help of former players, as well as coaches and colleagues, throughout the years.

"That was awesome, seeing that and seeing what some of the players had written. And I think if you had asked them to write something within one or two years of playing, it's completely different than 10, 15, 20 years down the road, how you look back and reflect differently when you're in your 30s…as opposed to how you see things as an 18 or 19-year-old...but just seeing it in writing really validated kind of the relationship that you have with them now with their playing days gone," said Newcomb.

Newcomb says the relationships developed over the years mean a lot to him. "That's huge.

I mean, when you have them here as players, obviously it's a completely different type of relationship than when they are out of school. It's the same thing; it's great to hear from some of those guys. Some of them were like Coach Del Schoenfish (Cambridge), Coach Bob Braithwait (many years at Arapahoe and now at Wallace). You know, when I first came into the RVL, they were the old dogs. And, you know, I learned a lot from them, and a lot of advice, and just watching how they do things. So it was nice to hear from them. And now, younger coaches or younger people, now that I'm on the other side of it," added Newcomb.

Craig had the opportunity to coach his son, Dawson, too, and talks about that experience. "It was, for the most part, very positive. I mean, you know, it's great being able to have that extra time together, but at the same time, I gave up football a couple of years before he graduated. Some of that was that I was getting mentally tired at the start of the basketball season. That's not a good way to start a season. And two, you could tell that after seven months together, the coach-athlete father-son lines were getting a little blurry. And so I just kind of stepped back, let him do his own thing, and then stayed with basketball. And we always told him from the start, like, you're probably going to get chewed out more than you deserve and get less praise than you deserve. That's just the way it is being a coach's kid, "added Newcomb.

And, of course, his wife, Trista, has played a huge role in his coaching career. "She also has done some coaching when we first got here and when we were in Valentine. She has the coaching perspective, which can be good and bad. Once in a while, the coaching opinion comes out, and that's fine," he said with a chuckle.

"You're always looking for feedback. But just being there outside of school, outside of coaching, always supportive, and then helping out in extra ways. She kept the book for me for the last five or six years, and has always been available."

And for Newcomb, his family coaching roots run deep.

"My dad (Robert Newcomb) coached for 38 years, 33 of which were at Bartley. He coached me in football and basketball throughout high school. My oldest brother, Doug, was coaching up at Stratton from the mid-seventies until he retired in the early two thousands at Dundy County Stratton. You know, I always get advice from him," said Newcomb

Craig's late brother, Larry, was important to him during his coaching career, too, and he was someone Craig could chat with. He played against Larry, who was an assistant at Rep Valley for the basketball program, and another brother, Doug, who we mentioned earlier, coached at Stratton, and Craig played football against him.

"Then my closest brother in age, Larry, taught at Republican Valley and coached at Republican Valley for a few years. And I actually played against him when he was coaching at Rep Valley, and I played against my oldest brother Doug in football. So, you know, all through high school, I'd played against teams that my brothers coached against," added Newcomb.

"(My) Dad did a lot of scouting for me before he had all the film exchange and Hudl. And then my brother Larry, we'd either have a short conversation or a text exchange. So that was always nice having them available," said Newcomb.

Newcomb says he will miss many things about coaching, especially working with the kids and chatting with fellow coaches. "Definitely working with the kids outside of the classroom. That won't probably become apparent as much until next November when practice starts and they're all in the gym and I'm across the hallway, and not involved in it directly on a day-to-day basis. And then just the camaraderie with the other coaches and on game nights. You know, go and visit with them before games, between games, and afterwards. And just some of those things will probably be the biggest thing I miss."

Newcomb had the chance to coach the CSO All-Star Game in Cambridge earlier this summer. He coached the team named after his late Dad. "That just meant a lot to me that the area thought enough of Dad to recognize him and for all the years he put in for basketball and football and sports in Southwest Nebraska, you know, it's just an honor to be able to coach that team for him."

Coach Craig Newcomb with his mother, Arlene, there to accept the honor at the CSO All-Star Game.

He will get another chance to coach on July 23rd in the Nebraska Coaches Association game. That will be at 8:00 P.M. CT at Lincoln North Star. Bertrand Senior Marcus Hernandez will play in the game, too.

"You know, that's just amazing. First of all, that peers think enough of you to even nominate you for that, but then also to be selected for that, and to get to work with some of the premier players in the state for this year. And Marcus Hernandez has been selected to play in that. So, you know, getting to work with him for one more time on the court. You know, he's been such an integral part of the program, not just basketball, but everything he's involved in, just his leadership and just his character. So, like to cap off the career doing the Coaches Association All-Star game, that's going to be a blast."

Craig, from Kenzie, Indie, and Evan - Congratulations on your retirement as the Head Boys Basketball Coach at Bertrand. It has been a joy to watch you coach, mentor kids, and work with you on the media side of things. Enjoy your retirement.