Coaches can have a big impact of the lives of student athletes.
Kevin Scofield knows a thing or two about that because he's been doing it for 40 years at Schoharie Central Schools.
"You know, the old adage is that 'if you go to work and it's fun everyday and you don't have a problem getting up and doing it,'" said Scofield, who also serves as the co-athletic coordinator. "You want to keep doing it, and it's always been that way for me."
He began his coaching career at 22 years old, running the junior varsity basketball team at Schoharie.
"We got beat in the first game by 40 points or so," Scofield said. "It was an auspicious start."
"He pulled us together. By the end of the season we were a .500 team," said Shane Barton, who was a sophomore point guard on that team.
Today, Barton is the head coach of the boy's team. Scofield serves as his assistant coach.
"For the last 13 or 14 years, he's been my J.V. coach," Barton said. "Little role reversal."
Taking on different roles was common during Scofield's tenure, filling whenever a coach was needed.
That includes everything from basketball to softball and volleyball to soccer — the Swiss Army knife of coaching.
"Some of his blades have gotten a little dull over the years, but yeah that's a good analogy," Barton said.
But after four decades of coaching student athletes, Scofield is stepping away from the game. He's retiring at the conclusion of this basketball season.
"You just know it when it's time," Scofield said.
He had stepped away from soccer a year ago. Before that, it was his special education teaching career.
With his wife soon retiring, Scofield said it's time to move on from coaching basketball. But he said he'll stay busy by continuing to catch soccer and basketball games.
This spring, Scofield is going to help coach tennis because there's a void. And no one else fills in better than Scofield.
"I'm really proud of all the things that we've accomplished," Scofield said. "I'm really happy to say that once you're a Schoharie Indian, you're always one."
