Send off for Coach full of laughter, tears and stories
The long line outside the TSB Stadium in New Plymouth yesterday morning was not the queue to get in to a basketball game, but people arriving to celebrate the life of a basketball legend.
Hundreds turned out to farewell Stephen Ronald McKean, better known around the maunga, and New Zealand, as ‘‘Coach,’’ who died on Monday, May 3.
An American flag and a basketball hoop were on the wall in pride of place for the service, which was being livestreamed to McKean’s family in Minnesota.
In an emotional and humorous service, McKean was remembered as a master of the one liner, and a larger than life, wonderfully loud and charismatic character.
His ability to make every player feel like a star and his relationship-building skills were attributes mentioned more than once.
McKean came to New Zealand in 1971 to play basketball. In 1972 he took over as coach of the Tall Blacks, a position he would hold for 10 years and which included New Zealand’s first win against Australia in 1978.
His pallbearers included Stan Hill and John MacDonald, members of that team.
McKean’s friend of 60 years, Bob South, one of the first US imports to the New Zealand basketball scene, played with McKean when they were at university in the US.
His friend was nicknamed Bomber, because his jump shot was a ‘‘thing of beauty,’’ South said.
McKean was a remarkable player, phenomenal coach, a loving husband and father, and impacted thousands of young people from ‘‘tots to teens to Tall Blacks’’.
His first team was an Auckland club side, which was where a 13-year-old Neville Corlett first saw him.
McKean never missed a shot, Corlett, who went on to play for the Tall Blacks, said.
‘‘I said, ‘Who is this guy? I want to be like Steve McKean.’’’
Corlett described McKean as the ‘‘original energiser bunny’’.
He was larger than life, a pied piper, could never be replaced, and would be terribly missed, Corlett said.
In New Zealand, McKean has always been known as Coach.
He came to Taranaki to coach the BP Bears and later worked for Sport Taranaki and was regional director of the Taranaki Secondary Schools’ Sports Association (TSSSA), influencing thousands of kids in the region.
Rodger Thompson, who was development manager at Sport Taranaki in the mid 1990s, joked about his first day on the job.
When Thompson arrived, naturally dressed in his best clothes, he heard McKean before he saw him.
‘‘He yelled out ‘‘where’s the new guy?’’ Thompson said.
‘‘Then he said, ‘What the hell are you wearing? We’ll have to get you a tracksuit.’’’
Coach was a major influence on this region in relation to sport, Thompson said. ‘‘He built relationships and made people feel good about themselves.’’
Former Sport Taranaki boss Howie Tamati shared stories about the years he worked with McKean, before finishing with a karakia.
It’s about pathways created by people who have gone before and the legacy they leave behind, he said. ‘‘We each aspire to be like them.’’
Daughter Naomi McKean spoke of her father’s unwavering loyalty to her and how that taught her to believe in herself and not back down.
She also revealed how he had staked out his letterbox at 4am to find out who was stealing their paper, how crumbs on the floor were ‘‘not tolerated’’, and how he’d eat her school lunch so her mother wouldn’t find out she had only eaten the biscuits.
Rev Albie Martin, who conducted the service, read out a letter written by McKean’s brother Brad who said he was 13 years younger than his brother and ‘‘idolised the man who was called Bomber back then’’.