slo larson

SoCal High School & Prep Report

SLO News: Paso Robles' Veteran
Coach Still Tough On Players--(January 24, 1998)

This story is from the San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune, from writer Dan Ruthemeyer, who interviewed Paso Robles' veteran coach, Scott Larson last week about the differences between this year's team and past teams he's coached. And Larson was frank to admit that this year's team is one of the best he's ever coached, but that's why he's as hard as ever: Because they have the talent to be so much better than some of the other teams he's coached before. Paso Robles is in the Los Padres League, featuring teams such as Atascadero, Cabrillo, Morro Bay, Paso Robles, St. Joseph/Santa Maria, and Santa Ynez. The news from that area is pretty spartan, and that's why, whenever we come across a story about a team, player or coach in this area, we like to share it with you. Here's the story from the SLO Telegram-Tribune:

Paso Robles' Scott Larson Still Tough On Players

By Dan Ruthemeyer. Telegram-Tribune

Scott Larson is coaching as hard as ever. He's still running hard practices and he's still barking out instructions during games. His approach hasn't changed.

"'I've always believed in doing your best," said Larson, the Paso Robles High boys basketball coach. "If I'm going to push them when we're behind by 10 or tied, I should be doing the same thing when we're up by 10. I don't want them to be complacent. I want them to be hungry. That's where I'm coming from."

Larson's team is 17-0 and ranked No. 5 in CIF-Southern Section Division II-A. He is fortunate that he can continue to push his players. He can yell at them during practices or games, and they'll take it well. "The kids I have are very coachable," said Larson. "I can't remember a group that has been as coachable. I've been doing this 21 years. Everything we try to do, the kids accept it. They accept constructive criticism. They acccept their roles. They accept each other."

Larson coached seven seasons at Paso Robles before he had a team finish with a winning record. He went 11 seasons before winning a Los Padres League title. He sees some of those early teams as having been successful because they got the most out of what they had. "The first years we lost a lot of games," said Larson, "but you can't compare the teams now to those teams then. There's no comparison in terms of the talent level . There were years when we didn't win championships and we didn't have .500 records. But we felt good about what we did because we won some games maybe we shouldn't have won."

That's one reason Larson continues to push his current team. This team has the talent. Now it's time to see what happens when talent mixes with team chemistry and hard work. It's time to see how good this team can be. "I've always felt you should play toward your potential rather than toward a record or a win-loss percentage," said Larson. The Bearcats are headed that way.

This story appears at the SLO Telegram-Tribune's website, in their prep section. Even though they haven't updated their prep basketball reports regularly, we'd encourage you to visit their site often, and of course, if you're in their circulation area, to go out and buy the paper. Really, spend the quarter, it won't kill you. We'd buy it here in L.A. if someone could get it to our local newstand, but alas, we haven't been able to find it anywhere yet. But we're still looking.