Page 4 - MidWeek Windward - May 25, 2022

4 MAY 25, 2022
WINDWARD O‘AHU SPORTS
Kailua Resident Takes A ‘Shot’ At Basketball Documentary
BY KYLE GALDEIRA
Hall of Fame. He first devel- oped a knack for the game as a youngster, and after star- ring at Bishop Egan High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, he went on to play for coach Howie Landa, who would play an influen- tial role in his life at Trenton Junior College, now known as Mercer Community Col- lege in New Jersey.
“I am one of the wealthiest people in Hawai‘i because I have spent the last 55 years enjoying, playing with and teaching basketball to a never-ending supply of young players.”
Hess strives to share stories of other influential coaches, including publishing a bi- ography of professor Ernest Blood, who was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basket- ball Hall of Fame in 1960 after leading a high school squad to 159 consecutive victories. He is currently producing a documentary on Blood — Professor Blood, Basketball’s First Great Coach — which should be ready to view later this year. Hess wants to “tell the world about this forgotten pioneer of the game who was an innovator” in the coaching field.
For Charles “Chic” Hess, wealth is measured not in dollars but rather in the countless hours over 55-plus years of coaching and mak- ing a lasting impact on his athletes and teams.
“I am one of the wealth- iest people in Hawai‘i be- cause I have spent the last 55 years enjoying, playing with and teaching basketball to a never-ending supply of young players,” Hess says. “For a guy like me, I can’t imagine experiencing a life better than that.”
“God had to be looking out for me that fateful day when coach Landa altered the course of my life,” Hess recalls. “I was one of eight kids in my family and at- tending college was only a dream. Without coach Lan- da’s influence, I shudder to think what my life would be like today. It was definitely a fork in the road — an almost 180-degree change of direc- tion.”
Charles “Chic” Hess
emy of the Pacific, where he took a team that went 1-18 the previous year and helped it improve to 18-9 the fol- lowing season, including a fourth-place finish in the Division II state tournament. In 2020, Positive Coaching Alliance selected him as the National Coach of the Year, and was also recognized by the Hawai‘i House of Rep- resentatives with a citation for exceptional service to the state’s youth and athletes through education and en- couragement.
and passion,” Hess says. “And my passion has been my job. I am one of the luck- iest people in the world. I of- ten reflect on the fork in the road that made it all possi- ble. Through participation in sports, kids are provided the opportunity to develop lead- ership skills, while learning how to work as a member of a team,” he adds.
The retired teacher resides in Kailua and got into coach- ing in Pennsylvania where he posted an impressive 230-81 high school record. The three-time Pennsylvania Coach of the Year winner eventually earned a spot in the Lebanon High School
and was twice named NAIA District 29 Coach of the Year while leading Brigham Young University–Hawai‘i in the late 1980s. In 1991, he was named the NABC-Ko- dak National Junior College Coach of the Year at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona.
For more info, email coachchichess@gmail.com.
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Following his playing days, Hess thrived as a coach
Hess also made a lasting impact at the high school lev- el locally, including at Acad-
“Since my youth, basket- ball has been my first love
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