Who’s that man stomping his foot?

            If you’re at a Tom Bean boy’s basketball game, and you hear this question, the most likely answer would be, “Oh, that’s Coach Colston.” This is the coach that has commanded our Tomcats through everything this year with a constant fire burning inside of him; the same guy that can inspire his team to rise up, no matter how much they are down buy. With his loud presence on the court, you might be surprised at how calm and subdued he seems in a classroom setting. However, you would soon discover that his powerful, commanding persona on the court is matched by his words off of it.

AT: Where did you grow up?

Colston: I grew up in East Texas; Nacogdoches and Longview (to be exact).

AT: Most of the students that go to the games come away talking about the way you coach. It’s loud, in your face, exciting, and is uniquely different from past coaches we’ve had in Tom Bean. Is this a direct influence from your past basketball experiences, or did you come across this method and decide to stick with it?

Colston: You know, I guess it just comes from coaching younger people. They tend to not know what to do, so I’m still coaching during the game. A lot of coaches are able to get it across in practice, but right now we’re so far behind in our basketball knowledge that during the game, at this point, I still have to coach like it’s practice and give them direct instruction.

 AT: What do you think has changed about high school basketball over the years?

Colston: The commitment is not there like it used to be. Children don’t play as much as we used to play, and, by not playing, they don’t know the game. They don’t really watch it, and when they do they look for the spectacular, the dunks, putting the ball between the legs, behind the back passes, and things like that. They don’t watch to learn how to play. If you watch the game and don’t necessarily watch the basketball itself, but the people that are away from the ball, most of them are looking at the ball instead of trying to find a way to get open so they can score. Just that kind of commitment is not there like it used to be.

AT: It has been awhile since Tom Bean basketball was at a peak as far as performance goes.  With that in mind, what were your expectations when you took the job?

Colston: I’m not sure if I really heard about the basketball that much, but, from not knowing the individual players, I really didn’t have any expectations. I really didn’t know what or who I was dealing with as far as the types of kids, players, parents, or support from administration. I didn’t know how the administration would actually be. So, therefore, I didn’t set any type of expectation. If I did that, then they probably wouldn’t be attainable because I may not have set the correct ones. I didn’t know the whole situation.

AT: How has your first year been in Tom Bean? I mean everything; the players, students, and classes.

Colston: It’s been okay. I mean, I’m cool with it. We’ve come a long way. We have a long way to go, but we’ve come a very long way.

AT: If you could describe your team’s season in one word, what would it be?

Colston: Moderately successful. Like I said earlier, we’ve come a long way. We’re not where I’d like to be, and we’re not where we could be. A lot of that stems from the past, but, since we have come a long way, we are beginning to get to where we want to be and, actually, where we should have been at about a month ago. But, we’re getting there, so that’s what makes it successful, because we’re actually turning the corner. We’ve got three more corners to turn, but we’re turning the first corner.

AT: Your team has come very close to wins this season, but somehow fallen just short. How big of an impact is that to the morale of your players? Is it worse than being beaten easily?

Colston: Getting blown out is more detrimental to a teams’ morale than a close margin loss. Because, if you only lose by two points, then you’ve put yourself in position to win. It hurts them (the players) more when we lose by a close margin. I keep trying to tell them that they’ve done all that they could, and they’ve put themselves in a position to win. When you put yourself in position to win, then you’ll start coming out on top; but, if you’re not in position to win by middle of the third quarter, then you don’t stand a chance. If you are in that position, then that says you’ve been competitive, and you can look back on the few mistakes you’ve made and go from there.

AT: Last question: Your favorite sport is obviously basketball. What is it about basketball that makes it your favorite?

Colston: The competitiveness and the intensity. If it’s played right, it’s like a see-saw. It’s just back and forth, intense, and competitive from the very beginning. It’s not like football where teams have a long drive and you opportunity to score doesn’t happen for six or seven minutes of game time. Normally, a team will only have the ball for about fifteen to twenty seconds. Then it’s your ball for fifteen to twenty seconds, if even that long. So, it’s pretty up tempo. Things happen real quickly and you have to be decisive.

            It has certainly been a long season for the Tomcats, but that’s not to say they haven’t given their all. Every game, they come out just as ready, just as prepared, and just as fired up as before. This is also true for Coach Colston; and you can bet that if you ever sit in those stands during a guys’ basketball game, then you will hear the stomping of a foot as a commander gets the attention of his troops.