See ya later ‘Coach’
Known to generations of Taranaki school kids as ‘‘Coach’’, Steve McKean died at hospice in New Plymouth yesterday morning. The former basketball coach, PE teacher and sports administrator was one of Taranaki’s most outspoken and colourful sporting characters.
He called everyone ‘‘buddy’’. And he made friends wherever he went.
Steve ‘‘Coach’’ McKean has been remembered as a legend of sport in Taranaki following his death yesterday after a short battle with cancer.
He is survived by his wife, Rachel, and daughter Naomi.
While best known nationally as a basketball coach, locally McKean reached thousands of young people either through his time teaching at Spotswood College or as regional director of the Taranaki Secondary Schools’ Sports Association (TSSSA), a position he held for 20 years.
McKean started the TSSSA, former Sport Taranaki boss Howie Tamati, who worked with him for 26 years, said.
‘‘So many kids have benefited from playing sport, making new friends, having great experiences and being introduced to the challenge of competitive sport.’’
Sport Taranaki encourages sport throughout the region, but when Tamati returned after 10 years away to become head of the organisation, he did not have many contacts.
So McKean drove him around the maunga introducing him to people.
‘‘I had so much respect for him.’’
As a ‘‘loud’’ American on the sporting sidelines in quiet New Plymouth, ‘‘Coach’’ made a great impact, Tamati said.
‘‘He was a typical American – loud, funny, he loved competition, loved winning. He was just great to be around. His knowledge of sport was amazing.’’
McKean had a fantastic
memory for names and numbers, Tamati said.
‘‘He could go right around the mountain naming people he worked with and their telephone numbers.
‘‘He was a great man to know and work with.’’
There is a saying in Ma¯ ori, Tamati said, ‘‘Kua hinga te to¯ tara i Te Waonui a Ta¯ ne. A great to¯ tara has fallen in the forest of Ta¯ ne.
‘‘I’m going to miss him.’’ McKean was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit (MNZM) in 2012 for services to sport, picked up a lifetime achievement gong at the New Zealand Sport and Recreation Awards in 2016 and was an inaugural inductee into Basketball New Zealand’s hall of fame.
He was known all over Taranaki as ‘‘Coach’’.
Even his number plate said ‘‘Coach’’.
Sports Taranaki chairman Gordon Brown said McKean had lots of offers to buy his number plate, but wouldn’t sell.
‘‘It was his pride and joy.’’ Brown first met McKean in
1990 when McKean moved to New Plymouth from Auckland to coach the BP Bears, the region’s basketball team that would later evolve into the Mountainairs.
‘‘I was covering basketball for the paper, and everyone covering basketball knew Coach McKean,’’ Brown said.
‘‘It was a big coup getting him to Taranaki. Many people remember him as a basketball legend, but he was more than just a basketball coach.’’
As regional director of the Taranaki Secondary Schools Sports Association, McKean took the role to a ‘‘whole new level’’, getting 42 sports involved, Brown said.
‘‘It’s a sad day for Taranaki. ‘‘He was the guy that got things done. Taranaki was lucky to have had him. He will be very much missed.’’
McKean grew up in Mantorville, Minnesota, in the United States.
He once said he had three toys growing up – a basketball, a baseball and a football.
But it was basketball that brought him to New Zealand in
1971 as player-coach for Panmure in Auckland.
McKean took over as coach of the New Zealand men’s basketball team, the Tall Blacks, in 1972, a job he held until 1981. In 1978 he coached the team to its first win against Australia.
Friend and colleague Garry Carnachan said McKean made a ‘‘massive contribution to basketball in New Zealand, but not just basketball’’.
‘‘He was responsible for school event projects in Taranaki that tens of thousands of kids had opportunities through.’’
Carnachan first met him when McKean started teaching PhysEd at Spotswood College.
‘‘He was great. The kids loved him and he loved them.
‘‘He was a legend of sport, but he made everybody else feel like they were the superstar, really.
‘‘He just made everybody feel special, like they were really important and people responded to that.’’
Sport Taranaki chief executive Michael Carr said ‘‘Coach’’ was at the heart of Taranaki sport for decades, encouraging and inspiring young people across the region. ‘‘His commitment to Taranaki sport still burned bright in recent times, and he remained an influential figure in Taranaki.’’
Most recently he was instrumental in helping form the Taranaki Basketball Regional Sports Organisation and bringing Breakers’ games to New Plymouth for the first time, Carr said.
‘‘He brought so much energy and passion with him. He was ‘basketball man’ who went well beyond basketball and was relevant across all codes.
‘‘He was respected wherever he went and still carried on inspiring people after decades in the community.’’
‘‘It was a big coup getting him to Taranaki. Many people remember him as a basketball legend, but he was more than just a basketball coach.’’ Gordon Brown
Sports Taranaki chairman