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Novak is national coach of year

By Amelia Rayno, Star Tribune, 05/03/11, 3:29PM CDT

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Hopkins coach wins ESPN Rise honor after winning third consecutive state title


Ken Novak Jr. (left, with his assistant coach and dad Ken Novak Sr.) was named National Coach of the Year for boys' basketball by ESPN RISE after bringing Hopkins three straight titles

When people hear the news: that Ken Novak Jr. was just named the National Coach of the Year for Boys’ Basketball by ESPN RISE – the first of those awards given to a Minnesota coach – they will likely point to the years of success and hoard of state championship trophies as the catalysts.  

But the 22-year-tenured Hopkins coach would suggest the legacy is not at all about winning – instead, he might liken it to a band learning to play a complicated song: the product is not defined by its success, but rather, the many experiments and failures that spawned discovery.
“It’s the hardest thing – not just for high school kids, but I think all people – to realize, failing is good,” Novak said. “It’s just one step away.”
That mentality has marked the way Novak has always approached coaching, and it has proven to work: the Royals have won six state tournaments in the last ten years, including the last three consecutive years. But those wins have not come solely from his finesse as conductor or slews of talented players – although, admittedly, he’s had no shortage of those.
“At the very beginning of every year, I’ve always contended that the team that makes the most mistakes, that tries to make the biggest strides to do things that are the most difficult, will become the best team,” he said.
That insistence, 54-year-old Novak said, has inspired a full team from a collection of players – a song out of a bunch of single, pleasant-sounding notes. And to play flawlessly, each of those instruments must fully commit to its part.
Novak got that early lesson as a ninth-grader, playing at Hopkins under his father, Ken Novak Sr. One day, during a game, Novak Jr. got the ball, drove down the court and promptly threw it away. When he got the ball again, he did the same thing. The third time he had the chance, he started to drive, but passed the ball instead.
“I wasn’t stupid,” he said, “I saw what was going on.”
But his father pulled him out of the game and told him words he’s never forgotten: “You’ve got to do what you’re supposed to do. I don’t care if you have success or failure now – if you do it enough, you’ll become successful.”
“Basketball is a concert,” Novak Jr. said. “There are people that can take the lead, but they can’t overshadow the orchestra.”
As such, Novak encourages his players to experiment, to play “outside of their comfort range.” Sometimes along the way, that means missed notes, lost games. But that doesn’t bother Novak -- in fact, he somewhat thrives on it.
“With me, coaching now … winning means very little,” said the man whose all-time record with the Royals stands at 542-74. “I don’t get an excitement out of it. But losing, losing hurts. I kind of enjoy it – because it allows you to see what you need to do, what you need to work on. It’s an opportunity; it’s part of greatness.”
Which brings him to his favorite part of the game: practice.
“I could get rid of every game there is,” he said. “I don’t need to play games. But practice, I love. I could do it every day of my life – you can just see kids getting better. Most people aren’t lucky enough to go to an everyday experiment.”
If that all makes him sound crazy, well, he doesn’t care. And apparently, neither do his players, who were ranked No. 13 in the USA Today poll last year with a 31-1 season.
“The only people that get anything done are fanatics with a purpose,” Novak said. “Our kids are pretty fanatical about trying to get better.”
In other words: let the music play.

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