Saturday, August 5, 2017

Part of a regular series.

Throughout the year, GNACsports.com uses this space to profile conference student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. Collectively, it is these individuals who make the GNAC one of the top NCAA Division II athletic conferences in the nation.

Name: Steve Hanson
Sport: Men’s Basketball
School: Simon Fraser
Hometown: Peterborough, Ont.

Colleges Attended & Degrees: Douglas College, Simon Fraser University (Undergraduate, Physical Education & Coaching)

Why Did You Become A Coach: I love mentoring young men and I love to compete. They teach me something each week as well.

Who Has Influenced You The Most As A Coach - Either As An Inspiration, A Mentor Or Philosophically: Rich Chambers, former Canadian Junior National Team head coach. I mentored under him for six years and I also coached with him at the high school level. Along with Rich, who is a great friend, it goes without saying that I love the teams of Tim Izzo, Greg Popovich and young talent like Brad Stevens. Coaches and teams that play selfless basketball and put the success of the team before any individual.

Biggest Obstacle Overcome As A Coach: Changing a losing culture. I have come from some success at the high school level and an expectation to win every game. At Simon Fraser in Division II, our best season has been seven conference wins and 13 losses. That has to change. Before that changes, who we are has to change and that will take time. Each day I am learning more and more about what it will take to improve on the court as all of our players are getting an excellent education off the court. Time to synergize the two!

What Does Division II Mean To You: Division II is full of outstanding athletes, players, and coaches. I have a lot of respect for my fellow GNAC coaches and how the teams in the GNAC play. Every conference game is extremely tough and that helps prepare teams for the playoffs.

Extracurricular Activities: I still play men's touch football on Sundays. I still need a physical outlet.

Best Advice You’d Give To Student-Athletes: Enjoy this experience. Whether you have one or five years, it will be over before you can blink. You have to get everything out of this experience. When you're in it, it is extremely demanding and tough. When you are done, you will look back and want to do it all over again. Playing and coaching college sports is an honor and shouldn't be taken for granted. There are very few that get to do it.

If You Could Spend The Day With One Person (Past Or Present), Who Would It Be (And Why): I lost both my parents to cancer way too soon. I can't pick one, so I would say one more day with my mom or dad. To ask the questions that I didn't ask!

Favorite Sports Team: I have always liked the purple and gold. I loved the Lakers of the 80s and early 90s and I cheered for the Minnesota Vikings. Nowadays, I love great coaching. From the Patriots to the Spurs, the Seahawks to the Warriors, you can learn a lot from all the different approaches. They have all had success doing different ways.

Favorite Athlete: Michael Jordan. He had talent but never got outworked.

Most Memorable Sports-Related Moment: Getting the job at SFU. It is a dream job!