#Schmotz December 8

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Throughout December 2024, several of us are taking part in the 30-Day PPT Coach4aday Challenge. PPT is an acronym for People Places or Things. Each day we share our insights, thoughts, or memories about a person (living or dead), a place (we have visited or learned about) or a thing that intrigues us. Today I am going to write about a former college basketball coach with the nickname SCHMOTZ.

Schmotz” is a nickname for friend, former college basketball coach, and iconic character to many named Dan Schmotzer. He has spent 30 plus years coaching, teaching, and influencing young people at Coker University which is located in Hartsville SC. He embodied his favorite phrase “Come on Coker

His career was so impactful the basketball court at Coker is named after him. Shown below is a pic of Dan with his granddaughter Sadie. On top of that he is in the Coker Hall of Fame.

People, Places, & Things 30-Day Challenge Guidelines

Like previous challenges there are no hard and fast rules to participate. There are a few suggested guidelines

  1. Each day in December 2024 write about a Person, Place or Thing-PPT
  2. Share at least one fact, memory, or quality about your subject choice.
  3. If so inclined use the hash tag #Coach4adayChallenge on social media platforms

December 8th-Schmotz

Dan Schmotzer is one of the funniest and most entertaining college basketball coaches of all time. Two quick stories on him:

  1. Dan Schmotzer has a hard time remembering the names of referees. So he writes their names on the palm of his hand. When he is upset with a call he looks at his hand to get the correct name of the ref he is upset with.
  2. Dan was never more animated than during a basketball game at Erskine twenty years ago. He was upset at an official’s calling of the game and attempted to get his attention but the official just ignored him. Dan was not going to be denied and attempted to draw a technical foul. Still the official was having none of it, and he continued to ignore Dan’s pleas from the sideline. Finally exasperated, Dan jumped to the scorer’s table and ran atop from one end to the other. There he leaped off the table landing with an arm raised like he was John Travolta out of scene from “Saturday Night Fever” despite all of that he still was not whistled for a technical foul.

To finish Dan has a twin brother named Dave Schmotzer who coached baseball at Coker for 26 years and the stadium is named after him.

Coach4aday

My purpose in life is to coach. I am a former collegiate basketball coach, director of athletics, and chief of staff. I worked at four NCAA Division I & II universities during my career. At each campus I learned timeless lessons on teamwork and leadership. Today my passion is coaching others on what it takes to lead, serve, and succeed.

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