Bob Lutz: Hall of Fame men’s coach Slaymaker finds happiness leading girls basketball team

It’s becoming pretty obvious that Ron Slaymaker’s appetite for basketball is insatiable.

He coached high school basketball for six years, then became men’s coach at Emporia State for 29 years, winning 465 games before retiring after the 1997-98 season and earning a spot in the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame.

But retire? Who was he kidding?

Slaymaker went to the dark side, becoming a basketball referee for 17 years and working games all over east-central Kansas and beyond.

But last year, Slaymaker started feeling pain in his groin area. He figured there was a simple remedy, but it turned out that his hip was bad and required replacement surgery.

Surely, that was it for Slaymaker and basketball.

Nope, there is another chapter.

Slaymaker learned of a girls basketball coaching opening at Chase County High in Cottonwood Falls and, at 78, he jumped on it.

But he had to be hired, which turned into a formality when Chase County principal and athletic director Gregg Errebo saw Slaymaker’s resume on his desk.

“I’m an old Fort Hays guy, so it pained me to hire a Hornet,” Errebo joked. “I went to college when he was in his heyday at Emporia State, so I’m used to calling Coach Slaymaker a few other names.

“Seriously, we’re just thrilled. He’s not just a great coach but a great role model and great person.”

Slaymaker guided the Bulldogs to a 19-4 record and the Class 2A tournament in his debut high school girls season. He admitted being nervous – like he’s been for every game he’s coached – before Chase County’s quarterfinal game with Moundridge on Thursday night in Manhattan. Chase County lost 47-38 to finish 19-5.

“This has been a godsend,” Slaymaker said Thursday morning after walking his dog. “I’ve enjoyed this more than anything I’ve ever done. I wish somebody had told me a long time ago that coaching girls was this much fun.”

Consider that Slaymaker led Emporia State to the NAIA tournament four times and won five conference championships. He coached internationally twice and credits basketball with giving him the opportunity to travel the world.

“I’ve taken an unusual path after coaching, no doubt,” Slaymaker said. “I worked with a lot of officials when I was coaching but I’m not sure I always appreciated them. I appreciate them a lot more now. I always said I had 40 years of refereeing experience, just not with a whistle.”

Slaymaker said he would readily agree at a moment’s notice to fill in as a ref for a JV game, a freshman game, wherever there was a game. Such is his love for basketball. He likely would be officiating this season if his hip had cooperated.

Instead, Slaymaker has found another basketball avenue to navigate.

“These girls really keep me from getting too serious,” he said. “Every time I try to get serious they’re just laughing about something. We’ve had two or three pretty serious situations, big games, when somebody said something and somebody else giggled and it brought everything else into perspective.”

Slaymaker’s wife of 58 years, Shirley, said she asked him a while back the biggest difference in coaching college men and high school girls.

“He thought for a minute and then he said, ‘The girls giggle,’” Shirley said. “I thought that was cute.”

Chase County senior guard Mikala Potts said she wasn’t sure what to expect when Slaymaker was hired. She worried he’d be too tough because of his experience coaching a college men’s team.

“Yes, I was skeptical,” Potts said. “A lot of us were. We thought it would be really hard, but that’s not at all what we got. I’m not going to say he’s easy on us, but he doesn’t yell or raise his voice and he doesn’t make us run a lot.”

Potts said Slaymaker focuses on positives and individual teaching.

“He wants us to understand our role on the team and wants to make us better people off the court,” she said.

As excited as Slaymaker was for another basketball challenge, he wasn’t sure how his coaching style would go over with high school girls.

“What’s too much? What’s not enough?” he said. “Very frankly, I’ve felt my way along from the beginning. I wasn’t sure how much to give them in terms of coaching offenses, defenses, strategies. I tried to be patient and some things were a long time coming. You stay with things long enough and you start to see progress. You pass that on to games and there you are. That’s what coaching is.”

Slaymaker, who said his hip ailment will likely require more surgery, said he wants to return to Chase County next season.

His wife has signed off. Errebo would be thrilled. The players adore him.

“I’m not a guy to sit at home,” Slaymaker said. “No grass is going to grow under my feet. You get to be a certain age and some people who quit doing things, they don’t last. I may die of something else, but I’m not going to die of sitting around on my butt.”

This story was originally published March 12, 2015 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Hall of Fame men’s coach Slaymaker finds happiness leading girls basketball team."