Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, August 27, 1995 TAG: 9508280031
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Heading into his 11th season as the girls' basketball coach at William Byrd, Thrasher has 198 victories. In that span, the Terriers never have failed to reach the Region III tournament.
With all five starters returning from last year's regional championship outfit, Byrd is ready to help Thrasher add to those accomplishments.
But it hasn't been as easy as it looks. Thrasher, 48, got a late start in basketball after turning out Region III powerhouses for 10 years in boys' cross country at Byrd. He battled Hodgkin's disease as a cross country coach, and just two years ago he overcame colon cancer without missing any time as a basketball coach.
Thrasher, like all coaches, has had his share of battles with parents. (One father claimed Thrasher hadn't promoted his daughter even though she had just been named to the All-Blue Ridge District team.)
Through the stormy times, though, Thrasher has been the workaholic coach who seems to drive his teams toward perfection.
In the state tournament, his Terriers have been runners-up twice - once to Radford when one of his players thought she heard an official's whistle late in the game and committed a turnover that turned the contest the Bobcats' way. Byrd's other state final appearance under Thrasher came when this year's seniors were freshmen and the Terriers, starting three ninth-graders, lost to Blacksburg.
His biggest star and most successful player was Jenny Mitchell, who was an All-ACC selection at Wake Forest and is a college coach.
``He expected a lot of us as players, but he wasn't a get-all-over-you-type coach,'' Mitchell said. ``He had high expectations. We knew that. And he knew the way to get the best out of us as players.''
Marcee Hufton, a senior at Roanoke College who played on Thrasher's last Group AA final team, says he stressed defense and that helped her when she got to college.
``He was very big on skills, improving everyone's skills,'' Hufton said. ``It helped in college, especially on defense, because that's what we stress'' at Roanoke.
Salem's Dee Wright, who coached Radford when the Bobcats beat the Terriers for the 1984 Group AA title, said, ``When you play Byrd, you have to be prepared, more so than for a lot of teams. It's not so much that they throw a lot at you, it's that they do it well.
``He has kids who can play. He's always been able to have ability, height and guards in one form or another. They're well-conditioned and knowledgeable.''
Thrasher followed Patsy Simmons as the Byrd girls' coach. The Terriers had won a state title under Simmons, and with an abundance of talent at Byrd, it was a matter of finding a coach to carry on the tradition.
``I hated to leave cross country. We had a good program,'' Thrasher said. ``It was a laid-back sport and there was no pressure.''
Thrasher started the cross country program at Byrd to help keep the boys' basketball players in shape for coach Roland Malone, whom he helped during the winter.
``We had about 50 boys and girls in the program and it got to be pretty good,'' Thrasher said. ``We were fortunate to have a lot of good kids.''
That comment is vintage Thrasher. He hates to take the credit for his teams' success.
``Don't do a story on me unless you mention my assistant coaches,'' he said over and over again, referring to Robin Hungate, Karen Jenkins Harvey, Debbie Williams and Tammy Newcomb.
A political science major at Virginia Tech, Thrasher played basketball at Byrd and acknowledges that when he focused on cross country and gave up coaching boys' basketball under Malone, he began to miss the winter sport.
His two bouts with serious illness have left him with a different philosophy on life. ``You're happy for each day,'' he said. ``You do the best you can, be the best coach you can and take care of yourself.''
Thrasher didn't give an inch to his latest illness. He returned to coaching after surgery, though he was gaunt and pale for the 1993 season.
``It takes time to recover from an operation,'' he said. ``I should have taken 1993 off, but I didn't want to miss anything.''
His philosophy may have changed, but he hasn't mellowed as a coach.
``It was a personality thing,'' Hufton said. ``Players respected him, but if you had a problem, you wouldn't go to him.''
Thrasher obviously gives the appearances of being a taskmaster, but, ``I don't know if I'm any more demanding than other people,'' he said. ``I've seen girls' basketball come a long way. There's been tremendous improvement. But you have to work at it.''
Thrasher isn't upset that his work hasn't produced a state title.
``Sure you'd like to win one, but we did the best we could do and the players played hard,'' he said. ``Winning the state is not the reason I'm out here coaching.
``The main thing is to come back in 10 or 15 years and find out how those kids are as citizens. We teach them teamwork, hard work and how to make the most of their abilities. But we want them to be good citizens first.''
by CNB