Coach Sloan: Building Your Vocabulary

The guy in the red tie has seen fire and rain.

Gerald Eugene Sloan is a man of his word, and he uttered interesting words over the years decades generations.

When he announced his resignation Thursday, he garnered more air time and newspaper ink during a 24-hour period than any Utahn in history - with the possible exception of Elizabeth Smart. Think of the competition: Brigham Young, Ted Bundy, Butch Cassidy, Philo T. Farnsworth and Donny Osmond.

With all the coverage, I've yet to read about my favorite Sloan story.
It occurred in a pre-season game against the Celtics back in the mid-80s when Jerry was in his early years as an assistant to Frank Layden.
Out of the blue the Jazz bench was whistled for a technical. Coach Layden screamed "On Who?" 
"They guy in the red tie," the official shouted.
With a bewildered look, Frank glanced over his shoulder, caught a glimpse of Jerry donned in a red neck tie and then went ballistic.
"The guy in the red tie! He's going to be in the Hall-of-Fame one day and you don't even recognize Jerry Sloan? You're disgusting!"
Little did anyone one know that within a few months, Frank would hand the Jazz reigns over to Sloan and he would direct the Jazz for 23 rough-n-tumble seasons and 1,121 wins.
Granted, Jerry won't win any Mr. Congeniality awards, especially from those who make a living blowing whistles and talking hand jive to the scorer's table.
He had the unique talent of taking a single cuss word and using it and its various forms as a verb, adjective, adverb, noun and pronoun. Frequently in a run-on sentence.
Jerry makes Ang Cerroni blush.
Two years ago Jerry entered the basketball Hall of Fame and the public got a peek of his soft heart at the induction ceremony.
For years Jerry has said, "I could wake up tomorrow and be gone. Who knows?"
He now leaves at age 68, his legacy engraved in the hearts of Jazz fans and the record books.

"May I make just one little comment, sir?"

Dynamic Duo in a Family Affair

                                            Tooele's gold medal medley relay. That's Casey
                                       kneeling with the cap on and Skyler pointing
                                       on the the right. (Salt Lake Tribune photos)


I'm going to pop-off and say that Skyler Smith and Casey McEachern are the two best swimmers to ever compete on the same Tooele team. But I've only been attending state swim meets for 50+ years, so what do I know?
You may argue that Mark Sanderson and Scott Christensen from 1979 or Jess Allen and Mike Rockwell from 1967 were the top pair to don purple Speedos.
And the real old-timers would make a case for any combination of Mark Imai, Craig Lohnes, Jim Whear, Rick Battison and a guy named Mel Roberts from the 1961 and 1962 teams. Tosh Imai and Dave Rimington on Coach Pratt's early teams were both bonafide all-Americans.
But for me and my money it's Skyler and Casey.
They teamed with Chase Stoddard and Tyler Von Hatten to win state in the 200 medley relay. Yesterday Skyler won the closest race at State by claiming gold in the 100 fly. Casey turned a donnybrook 100 back race into a thumping by hitting a 51.91 and winning by more than a body length.
Casey finished third in the 200 I.M. on Friday and Skyler grabbed a silver in the 100 breast. Their 400 free relay team finished fourth. And just for the heckuva it, Skyler was honored as an Academic All-Stater.
Skyler and Casey share two things:
     1) work ethic and
     2) genes.
Mel's not one to say that so-and-so was the hardest working swimmer he has ever coached; however, he will tell you that no one has outworked Skyler or Casey.
Casey is the son of Kris Holt and Brett McEachern. A generation earlier (my, that sounds like a long time ago) Kris was a top-notch backstroker, sprinter, distance and "How can I best help the team" swimmer for Tooele.
Casey has a whole slew of uncles and aunts that swam for Tooele, including Mike Holt who was a state backstroke champion in the mid-80s.
Skyler is the son of Staci Remington and former state champion Stuart Smith. In fact, Skyler broke his dad's varsity record in the 200 I.M. last year. Stacey was a standout breast stroker for Tooele in the mid-80s.
Skyler's aunt Susan Smith Houghton was a speed demon and among the top female swimmers for Coach Roberts. His Grandpa Russ was a champion swimmer for Coach Leigh Pratt and continues to announce all Tooele home meets.
Skyler's great-uncle David Rimington is the only swimmer in Utah history to win a gold medal in every State race he entered all four years. He was 8-for-8 between 1957 and 1960 in an era when you could only swim two events.
They have strong foundations, work ethics and hearts. Even after four years of hurt, pain and agony under Coach Roberts' eyes, they still love the sport.

College swim scholarships are as difficult to obtain as snowballs in Vegas,  but Utah or BY-Academy coaches would be bright to entice Skyler and/or Casey to their campus.