Tonya Cherne works full-time from home as a controller of W.M. Wrigley Company in Chattanooga. She and husband, John, head coach of the Red Bank boys’ basketball team, recently had a daughter — 10-week-old Izabella — but John’s schedule during the season sometimes limits his availability.
Yet she finds time to keep the Red Bank boys’ basketball coach on his toes, and lend help if necessary.
“She’ll remember to call and ask me if I’ve remembered everything,” John said. “I can also call and ask her to drive on a road trip if I’m full.
“All that and she’s still great at her job.”
Basketball season is the longest sport of the school year, with a season starting with preseason workouts in September and October and the season lasting from November until late February or March. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made and coaches are unavailable during Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. In the summer, coaches take their players to camps, as well as having open gyms for the players.
With coaches having sometimes as little as a day to transition from one opponent to another, ultimate preparation is necessary, which means game video, practices and game-day walk-throughs. Such a schedule means that “spousal support” takes on a whole new meaning for the husband or wife of a basketball coach.
The Chernes also have two sons: Jeff, a sophomore at Chattanooga State, and Atir, a seventh-grader at Hunter Middle. Tonya mentioned that “family bonding” time usually came at the gym.
“We wanted them to see that even though we’re doing basketball for dad, we wanted them to be a part of it,” she said. “We wanted them to see what he was doing and why he was doing what he did. That doesn’t always leave time for family time, but having the kids at the games is a plus.”
Tonya is sometimes needed to transport players on road trips, as Hamilton County doesn’t provide buses.
Spouses usually become big fans of the team. Tonya, who kept the scorebooks for Red Bank until this season, takes great pride in the fact that she’s only missed six games in John’s 16 years of coaching.
“And one time was because I was giving birth,” she said with a laugh. “I like being there for the kids. I tell them I’m their biggest fan. I’ll be right there cheering for them, but I’ll yell at them, too.”
David Moore — husband of Cleveland girls’ coach Rachel Moore — enjoys forming relationships with players and their parents, as well as watching the games themselves.
“When you’ve been around some of these players since they were freshmen, you develop relationships with their parents, and they all become like extended family,” he said. “By the time the players are seniors, you’re able to see the growth and maturity of those players and you want to see them succeed.”
Karen Smith, wife of Bradley Central boys’ coach Kent Smith, mentioned that her family tries to avoid conversation about basketball at home during the season.
“I might ask him why he got mad about a particular play, but I think that when he gets home, he’s ready for a break from talking about basketball,” she said.
Karen also admits that hearing criticism about her husband had become hard for her and the family’s two daughters: Megan, 20, and Jordan, a junior at Cleveland High.
“There was one year when we were in a tournament at Red Bank and one particular fan was being belligerent towards Kent, to the point where I had to leave,” she said. “The past few years, I really hadn’t heard much, so either they’re not talking about him or I’ve become smarter as to where I sit.”
In most cases, wins and losses are felt by the family.
“We enjoy nights when he has a big win,” Karen said “The home we live in has a big downstairs with a big-screen TV, so we’ve learned to give him space when he’s not pleased.”
Said Kent: “Karen is just the glue of this family. I don’t care what level it is; coaching-wise, we put the most pressure on ourselves. We as coaches don’t always want to bring home our mood from the playing floor, but usually our moods are contingent on what happened on that Tuesday or Friday night.
“When I do bring that mood home, she’s always had a good perspective of how to deal with the good as well as the bad.”