New Heritage basketball coach has a good story to share

So how does a coach from Indiana end up at Heritage?

“Well, it’s kind of a complicated story,” Childs said.

It’s OK, Coach, we’ve got time.

“I’m from Indiana; my wife is from Idaho,” Childs said. “And we met while attending college in Florida.

“After we got married, we moved to Idaho, and I love it there. We spent 14 years in Coeur d’Alene. Then we wanted to move to be closer to my family, so we went to Indiana. But the last couple of years, we’ve been talking about getting back to the Pacific Northwest. So when I saw the job opening here at Heritage, I decided to put my name in.”

Childs said he quickly became impressed by the folks at Heritage – Garrison and athletic director Leta Meyer – and the type of program the Timberwolves hope to build.

“Everything about the process led me to believe this is the perfect place for me and my family,” Childs said.

Childs made a quick visit to Vancouver over the weekend, with his wife Kathy, a nurse, and his sons Conner, a basketball player who will be a junior next fall, and Parker, who will be entering seventh grade.

“Everyone here at Heritage have been very welcoming and tried to make us feel at home,” Childs said. “They really rolled out the purple carpet for us.”

Childs said he hopes to bring an up-tempo style of basketball to Heritage, utilizing the 3-point shot and pressure defense.

“I don’t think there will be much of an adjustment to the shot clock,” Childs said, noting that Indiana does not have a shot clock. “I loved it when I coached in Idaho and would cross the border to play with a shot clock in Washington.”

Heritage is hoping Childs brings some stability to a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2009 and has had four different head coaches over the past six seasons.

“I know we play in a tough league, but I’ve like what I’ve seen from the players we have,” Childs said. “I saw a couple of them play this morning over in Portland. I’m excited to come here and get to work.”

The school year in Indiana ends May 24, and Childs expects to be in Vancouver for the start of spring practices on May 29.

Now back to that Shawn Kemp story.

Childs played basketball for Muncie Central High School. In 1988, Muncie Central won the Indiana state championship back when Indiana still had a one-classification state tournament.

In the title game that season, Muncie Central routed Concord, which featured a McDonald’s All-American in Shawn Kemp, who would go onto 14-year NBA career that included stops with the Seattle SuperSonics and Portland Trail Blazers.

Childs, a sophomore in 1988, did not play in the state title game. But I did find a team photo of that 1988 state title team, and Childs is in it.

Childs would become a starter at Muncie Central, earning a spot on the state all-tournament team as a senior in 1990.

Childs would go on play basketball in college and start on a 20-year coaching career.

But the Shawn Kemp story is still a good one. Now Childs hopes to help the Heritage Timberwolves create good stories of their own.

Tim Martinez is the assistant sports editor/prep editor for The Columbian. He can be reached at (360) 735-4538, tim.martinez@columbian.com or follow him on Twitter @360TMart.