Meet Dan Powers

Each year during the winter, Pacific Grove (PG) -- aka Butterfly Town USA -- is the temporary home to thousands of monarch butterflies. This and many other attractions make it a gem of a town to visit. One of those, known only to residents, is on display December through March. That being Dan Powers coaching the Pacific Grove High Breakers boys basketball team.

Far too modest to say so himself and quick to credit many others, Powers is a continuation of a Monterey County hoops lineage that rewards the community.

"I played for really good coaches and mentors," Powers explained. A PG native and a Pacific Grove High graduate, Powers was an integral part of the basketball team coached by Coach Todd Buller (now the Breakers athletic director). Of his time with Buller, "I learned to play hard, with effort." A point guard throughout his time, Powers as a junior was part of the team that won the school's first league championship since 1985 with an overall 24-3 record.

Oh yes, as to the question of why basketball for him instead of another sport, the short answer is that his father worshiped the Boston Celtics while his mother was a big Indiana University and Bobby Knight fan. Case closed.

Powers also noted, with slight deprecation, that two years after he graduated, tiny Pacific Grove won a 1998 state basketball championship, 55-54 over Modesto Christian High, something akin to what was portrayed in the film "Hoosiers."

After Pacific Grove High, he attended Monterey Peninsula College, playing for Bob Burlison, who coached Palma High to a 1992 state championship against Lincoln Prep of San Diego. Powers takeaway from his time with Burlison was "learning a lot about X's and O's plus his approach with players." The Lobos, a high-scoring team, won 20 games that season.

Then it was off to southern California, Claremont-McKenna College in particular, one of the best academic institutions in the country. Powers played for Coach Ken Scalmanini, the head coach since 1998. "I gained offensive knowledge from him." Powers graduated with a degree in history and met his eventual wife Aubrey there. To say she played on the women's team is rather an understatement. "She was an All Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference performer at Claremont McKenna and a much better player than me. She hit eight threes in an NCAA tournament game her senior year. Also, she is a teacher and former girls varsity coach at Carmel High (our rival)."

With an interest in teaching, Powers earned a Master's in Education at UC Santa Cruz and then returned to Pacific Grove in 2002 to teach high school and assist Buller. Thus began a run of three Mission Trail Athletic League championships in three seasons.

Now ten years in as varsity head coach, Powers has the Breakers rolling with a 19-6 overall record this past season, 13-1 in league and again champions of the MTAL (this for the sixth time in his tenure running the team).

A recipient of television station KSBW's Golden Whistle Award, this came about as a result of a nomination by one of his players. It's an honor involving in part the Transformational Coaches of Monterey County organization and the Central Coast Section of California Interscholastic Federation.

Powers being awarded the Golden Whistle Award

So with the answers detailed to why his immersion in basketball and then coaching, it's time to let Powers riff on these elements.

"As a coach, it's a cliche but I enjoy day-to-day practices the most. That and the relationship between coaches and players.  I like to see them [his players] grow and mature from being a sophomore to a senior."

About the latter, he offered, "You need to get to know them personally, it's kind of an individual read requiring adjustments to individual personalities but still having high standards. It's the job of a coach to push kids to go beyond what they think they can do."

He also sees a benefit from his dual role at Pacific Grove -- "it's a huge advantage to me being on campus [as a history teacher]. I'm seen as a teacher/coach."

Another aspect, known to those who have benefited, is Powers' generosity. In the summer, he will assist anyone who comes to the Pacific Grove High gymnasium wanting to better their skills. "I try to give as much as possible, so in the summer I'll help kids work on their game. I'm more than willing because, growing up, coaches did that for me."

So even if a player from a rival school, say Carmel or Palma or Stevenson, shows up seeking advice, Powers extends himself. A coach is a coach is a coach regardless of situation or time of year. At least Dan Powers is.