Tales from the hardwood

Steve Schultz patterns his coaching style along the lines of Ben Howland and Mike Krzyzewski, two men he has had the good fortune to watch and study up close.

His Fountain Valley High boys’ junior varsity basketball team runs practice drills and set plays in games, he said, based on the philosophies of the highly-successful UCLA and Duke men’s basketball head coaches. He also said he has been influenced on life and hoops from the philosophies of legendary UCLA Coach John Wooden.

Now, his name can be found etched in a book that includes the names of his mentors, as well as several other prominent basketball figures.

Schultz has two stories published in the just-released book, “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball, 101 Great Hoop Stories from Players, Coaches and Fans.”

The tome is full of inspiring stories and wisdom on life from the musings of basketball luminaries such as Pat Riley, Dolph Schayes, Chris Paul, Grant Hill, Caron Butler, Gregg Popovich, Ed O’Bannon, Ann Meyers Drysdale, Chuck Daly and John Feinstein, as well, as “no-namers like me,” he said.

The book was released Tuesday.

“I submitted four stories two years ago and about a month-and-a-half ago, I received an e-mail from Pat Williams, the senior vice president of the (NBA’s) Orlando Magic, telling me that two of my stories made it into the book,” Schultz said. “The reality of it set in once I had a copy of the book in my hand.

“To see my name, and have a few stories in a book, that includes Coach Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski, two men I idolized growing up, is both an honor and very humbling.”

Schultz, 24, is in his eighth year coaching basketball, six of which have been as a walk-on coach at his alma mater, Fountain Valley High. A former basketball and volleyball player for the Barons — he graduated in 2002 — Schultz coached the Barons freshman team for a year and has been the head JV coach the past five years, including two years serving as an assistant varsity coach.

He has a sociology degree and recently acquired his teaching credential, getting both at Cal State Long Beach, and will begin teaching English at Fountain Valley next fall.

Entering the week, his Fountain Valley team was 16-8 overall and 5-3 in Sunset League play.

Schultz said he became familiar with “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball,” through Pat Williams after striking up a relationship with the Orlando Magic senior vice president.

“Pat has been a mentor of mine for many years now,” he said. “I read his book, “Who Wants to Be a Champion?,” and contacted him on how much I enjoyed and appreciated the book. He responded to my letter and since then, I have read a dozen of his books and we have been in communication ever since.

“Whenever I need his counsel, I can call Pat and he always responds and gives me sound advice. We don’t really talk basketball, but we mostly discuss leadership and character building. Pat has always encouraged me in my writing pursuits and in September of 2007, he sent me a copy of his new book, “The Warrior Within,” and a letter saying he was creating the new Chicken Soup for the Basketball Lover’s Soul book and wanted me to send him some motivational and inspiring stories. I wrote out four short stories and e-mailed them to him.”

Williams said that Schultz impressed the Chicken Soup books judging panel, who evaluated “hundreds” of stories, Williams said, that sought inclusion in the book.

“He (Steve) got word of the project and submitted several stories and they were all well-written,” Williams said. “Steve had a great sense of what the “Chicken Soup” series of books is about, which is about stories that are uplifting, have a life lesson or that ‘wow’ factor.

“He’s a good writer and he graded out very high in the judging process. The hardest part of putting this book together was whittling it down to the number of stories that were allowed in the book. Steve impressed the judges, scoring two ‘10s,’ and he’s the only contributor to have two stories included in this book.”

The stories Schultz has published in the book are titled, “My Bruin Banner,” and, “Losing to Win.”

“ ‘My Bruin Banner’ is a story about staying true to yourself, not compromising your character and always doing the right thing, from my time coaching at the UCLA basketball camps,” Schultz said. “The example of Coach Wooden is intertwined throughout the story to show just how influential our own example can be to others.

“My second story is called, ‘Losing to Win.’ It is about my JV team from a few years back and our team manager, Peter Boutros, who inspired us all in ways that remain with us still. Peter was an over-weight kid his whole life and was cut from every team he played for, including mine. Peter lost over 50 pounds and became the JV manager his junior year. Peter practiced with us every day and in the last week of the season he earned a jersey and played in two games. His senior year he made the varsity team. So, it is a story about his determination to achieve a goal and the love of his teammates that propelled him there.”

Schultz said he wrote a poem a few months back called, “The Restoration of Hope,” that was published in the Coastline Community College professors’ magazine. He says he’s also written a leadership and philosophy notebook that he uses with his basketball teams and is currently writing a book titled, “Anything and All Things…The Anthem of a Championship Life.”

“I recommended any book (written) by Pat Williams, John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski to anyone and everyone,” he said. “Being a part of this book has been an immensely gratifying and empowering experience. Pat Williams, John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski have been the three most influential people in my development as a leader.

“I would like to thank Doug Erickson, the administrative director of UCLA basketball, for being the best in the business and always being so generous to me. I want to thank Pat Williams because he made it to the big leagues but never became a big shot. I want to thank John Wooden and Mike Krzyzewski for being the type of people that always call and write back. I want to thank Peter Boutros for being the inspiration for my story and I want to thank every player who has ever played on one of my teams, you are the reason I teach and I love you all.”

MIKE SCIACCA covers sports. He can be reached at (714) 966-4611 or by e-mail at [email protected].