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Lady Tiger coach family oriented, on and off the court
NEVADA, Mo. -- When you talk to Nevada Lady Tiger head coach Brent Bartlett, you can tell he's big on family.
It doesn't matter what topic you get into, the conversation has a way of going back to either Bartlett's family at home, or his family on the court.
In his ninth year leading Nevada, Bartlett has a team this season that is 6-3 overall, and might have a legitimate chance to win the Southwest Conference. This might also be the Nevada team that finally gets back to state, after a seven-year absence.
"I think they're special," Bartlett admits, while talking about the current Lady Tigers. "They're as well balanced a team as I've had since I've been in Nevada. Whoever's on the court can score."
While having too many scoring options can tear apart some teams, Bartlett's not worried this season.
"They get along so well," he said. "I think they're tremendous."
Bartlett said it helps when you have a family atmosphere on the team. From his assistant coaches to the last player off the bench, everyone is part of a cohesive unit.
Bartlett plays the part of a father figure, keeping his players versed in important life topics from drugs and alcohol abuse, to the importance of exerting their all.
"We call them 'CB Talks,'" Bartlett said. "I'll get the girls together every once in a while and they'll say, 'are we having another CB Talk?' I talk about the effort they put in practice, and how that's what we deal with in their jobs in life."
The coach said just about any topic is broached in CB Talks, with CB being the initials for Coach Bartlett.
"Between Coach (Jenny) Allard, Coach (Jack) Tudor and myself, we have a lot of life experience. They've got to learn some time. A lot of times kids don't want to hear it from their parents, or their parents are embarrassed," he said.
"We're their family away from home," Tudor said about the relationships.
It's an atmosphere that isn't always possible to create. Bartlett acknowledged that some years have been more difficult than others.
"Most of the time the kids get along really well. There were years that I just had to deal with issue after issue from players or parents," he said.
Those most difficult years have left him spent when the season ended, making him question his job choice.
"There have been times at the end of the years, when I've been away from my kids and family," he said. "I'm physically, mentally drained. Not every end of the year, but sometimes. But after a month of R and R, I'm just like, 'let's get after it.'"
Bartlett said the thoughts of leaving the coaching profession don't come along very often. He enjoys it too much.
"I love everything I'm doing," he said. "I love teaching here, I love coaching here; I consider it a dream job."
That Bartlett is at peace with the job is largely an extension of his life. The Lockwood, Mo., native grew up playing sports, notably baseball, which he went on to play in college. Bartlett was a member of the Nevada Griffons in 1988 and 1989.
He met his wife Lori, who grew up in Liberal, Mo., while playing her older brother Todd's teams in conference play.
"Her brother's my age," Bartlett said. "He was their best player at the time. Lori was a freshman. Her mom used to yell at me during basketball games. 'Get that Bartlett boy,' she'd yell. I tease her about it sometimes."
Lori, the daughter of Bob and Sally Suschnick, started dating Brent when she was a sophomore.
"(Todd) was going out with a girl from Lockwood. They got Lori and I to go out with them one time. We dated five years before we got married," Bartlett said.
"She modernized me," he said. "She got me in style. She laughs about my big-collared, pink shirt from when we first went out."
Bartlett eventually got into coaching at Drexel, where he was for five years. The last three years at Drexel, Bartlett was the head coach. He led a team of sophomores and freshmen to a 26-4 record his first season. The second year they finished third in the state and went 29-2. Their final year under Bartlett, in 1996, Drexel went 31-0 and won the Class 1 state championship.
When Lori was pregnant with their first child, Brent took a job in Nevada as an assistant under then first-year boys coach John McNeley.
"We wanted to move close to home," he said.
Bartlett said he benefitted greatly from his year with McNeley.
"I learned a lot from John," he said. "I grew up in Lockwood and coached at Drexel. John taught me how to run a big-school program, from youth basketball to camps."
After one year assisting the boys, Bartlett took over the reigns of the girls program, which had just finished third in the state the year before.
Nevada went to the state quarterfinals that first year, and he said the tradition of being a good team has been there since he started.
"When I took over, we were a target. The tradition's been here for years. Beating Nevada, that's a goal for almost every team we play. We wouldn't want it any other way as coaches," he said.
Bartlett believes the tradition is still alive.
"We've always been able to compete, I felt like, in the Southwest Conference," he said.
Bartlett said he wants to remain in Nevada, because it keeps him close to his family.
"I grew up in Lockwood, I've got a lot of ties there," he said. "My grandparents live in Lamar. My in-laws live in Liberal. I'm a big home person. I never wanted to move away. Family is real important to me and my wife. That's why we tried to stay in the area."
The Bartlett family, including daughters Mikayla and Chloe, currently live in Liberal.
They also have a spiritual side, which likely fuels Brent's desire to be so family oriented.
"My faith is a big driving force for me and my wife and kids," Bartlett said. "The good Lord's blessed us. We give him a lot of credit."
Over the years, Bartlett credits the good athletes and the assistant coaches he's had with Nevada's success on the court.
"Coach (Darrell) Dodd's great at teaching fundamentals," he said. "Coach Tudor is a volunteer coach and he puts in the same amount of hours that we do. We call him the shot doctor.
"Coach Allard, I rank her knowledge of basketball up there with anybody's. Coach McNeley, Jenny and Jack, I'm not afraid to take their opinion and run with it."