Ambassador shocked, Doctor overwhelmed

No wonder Warren and Stevenson have some of the best boys basketball teams in the area year in and year out.

They've got a doctor and an ambassador on staff, for goodness sakes.

OK, OK. So Bill Werly and Paul Swan are really assistant coaches with important-sounding nicknames.

But make no mistake, these two coaching legends are of the utmost importance to their teams and schools. Have been for decades.

That's why Werly, a psychologist at Warren who is lovingly called "The Doctor," and Swan, a retired math teacher at Stevenson who is so well-known and liked throughout sports circles that people started referring to him as "The Ambassador," will be part of the next class ushered into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

With a combined 65 years of service, they will be inducted April 25 in a ceremony at Illinois State University - Werly as a "Friend of Basketball" and Swan as a "Career Coach."

"I was thrilled when I saw your name on there, I gotta tell ya," the 61-year-old Swan said to Werly.

"That's cool. I was thinking the same thing," Werly, 55, responded.

Ironically, both head coaches - Warren's Chuck Ramsey and Stevenson's Pat Ambrose - nominated their faithful assistants independently. But it's fitting that Werly and Swan will end up going into the Hall together.

Not only are they two of the most tenured assistants coaches in the area - and quite possibly the state - but they are also very good friends who have shared whole-heartedly in each other's triumphs despite the fact that they have always been direct competitors.

In fact, they will be on opposite benches again Saturday, perhaps for the last time this season, when No. 2 Warren hosts Stevenson in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division clash.

"Paul and Bill are obviously different people, but in many ways, they're very similar," Ambrose said. "I know Paul is all heart, he's all about being around people, about helping them any way he can. I think Bill is a lot like that.

"The base of both men is how well they help people."

Over the years, Werly and Swan have helped hundreds of high school boys learn the game of basketball as well as the game of life. Just as important, they've also been loyal supporters of their head coaches.

Swan, who retired from teaching in 2002 but has continued to coach at Stevenson, is in his 39th year of basketball at the school and has been Ambrose's right-hand man for his entire 10-year tenure as head coach.

Werly has been a basketball coach at Warren for 26 years, and was named the top varsity assistant 16 years ago when Ramsey took the reins of the program.

"Bill is so kid-oriented. He works really well with kids and is always thinking about what's best for them," Ramsey said. "But he's also been great for me. He's the only assistant I've ever had and it's good to have consistency like that on your staff.

"Bill and I work really well together. We've had a lot of fun and shared so many laughs over the years."

Speaking of Werly, Swan and I did a lot of laughing when the three of us met Monday night. Here's what the two of them had to say about their induction, their careers and much more:

PBM: What was your reaction when you learned of your upcoming induction into the Hall of Fame?

Swan: I was literally shocked and, me being the emotional mess that I am, I got a little teary-eyed. The first thing I thought of is all the people who are in there, all the phenomenal players and coaches and then I thought about all the people I've played for and coached with. I thought a lot about Eb (former Stevenson basketball coach Bill Ebenezer). (Swan starts to choke up.)

Werly: Here we go again! (Laughter)

Swan: Eb's really the guy who gave me a passion for coaching, the way he loved his players was amazing. That kind of rubbed off on me, I think. And when I was growing up in Nebraska, I played for three of the most amazing high school coaches you could ever have. Claire Boroff was my football coach, Jim Ambler was my basketball coach and my track coach was Dutch Zorn. Those guys, they're what I wanted to be. I wanted to be like those guys. I've taken a part of them with me all the way through.

PBM: How about you, Bill?

Werly: I was pretty overwhelmed. Stunned is a good word. I didn't expect this at all. It's cool because assistant coaches are kind of in the background. But we work really hard. So this is a really nice honor.

PBM: Swanee, your first eight years at Stevenson you were the head varsity baseball coach. But in the more than 30 years since then, you've been an assistant coach. And Bill, you've never been a head coach at the varsity level. Swanee, did you ever get the itch to be a head coach again? And Bill, have you ever wanted to head up your own program?

Swan: Eight years was enough. I just feel like my gift is to be someone the kids can relate to. I can go pat them on the back and tell them they'll be OK. They need that. They need both. They need to be gotten after, which the head coach can do, but they need to be encouraged. And that's my gift - to encourage them. I'm also not a big X's and O's guy. Ask anyone. I mean, I don't even know some of our own plays and people are always making fun of me for that. (Laughter).

PBM: So if Pat (Ambrose) ever gets kicked out of a game and you have to draw up a play -

Swan: We're in trouble. (Laughter)

PBM: What about you, Bill, ever had any ambitions to be the top dog?

Werly: Maybe a little. I don't think I was ever really serious about it, though, because I really enjoy being an assistant coach. I really enjoy my role and I think Swanee and I have similar roles. I think we reach out to kids and try to connect with kids on an individual level and are sometimes the conduit to communicate with kids. Sometimes, let's face it, head coaches can be difficult to approach. They're all business a lot of times and that can put kids off.

PBM: How did you guys get involved with coaching in the first place? Were you always intent on being a coach?

Werly: I remember when I first got to Warren, I'm walking down the hallway and the Warren athletic director at the time, Mike Kunkle, saw me as I passed by his office and he pokes his head out the door and, he doesn't even know me and he goes, "Hey, you're kind of tall, do you want to coach basketball? (Laughter) Honest to God, that was my job interview."

Swan: On my application, I wrote, "Would like to help out coaching." There was an opening for sophomore basketball coach, so I got hired for that and there was an opening for freshman baseball coach and I got that, but the guy who was the varsity baseball coach left and they wanted me to do it and I said I wasn't ready for it, so they said, "Well, we're not going to have baseball then." So I said, 'OK, I'll do it.' I'm like three or four years older than the seniors. I didn't know what I was doing.

PBM: If you had to pick just one, what's your favorite memory of your coaching career?

Swan: My favorite team at Stevenson was the '91 team, strangely enough not the team that went downstate. We went downstate the next year in 1992. But in '91, people said we couldn't win, and those kids just believed and we won 25 games and beat Warren in the last game of the year for the conference championship in overtime. I'll never forget that. It was my favorite season, favorite moment. But, you know what, there's a lot of good ones like that.

Werly: My favorite moment was before a game. I walked out into the Civic Center in Peoria (when Warren went downstate in 1999). We were the first game of the morning and this was before anyone was out there. When the doors opened, you just saw all these people in royal blue (Warren fans) rushing in and filling up a large portion of the stands. That really touched me.

PBM: A lot of people think this is the best year ever for Lake County boys basketball in terms of the number of top-notch teams and Division I-caliber athletes. You've both seen a lot of basketball here, would you agree?

Werly: I think so. Our conference (the North Suburban) is a killer this year, just a killer.

Swan: There are more good players and more good teams than ever before. Every night you've got to be on or someone's going to get you.

PBM: Neither of your head coaches are in the Hall of Fame. As soon-to-be Famers yourselves, how on earth should you be expected to ever listen to another word they say? (Laughter)

Swan: That's what I tell Pat every day.

Werly: I think both of them (Ambrose and Ramsey) have probably often said to us, "You don't listen to me anyway." (Laughter)

Werly: But seriously, Chuck and I have an awfully good relationship. We're very good friends. I owe him a lot.

Swan: Pat's like a proud papa with me going in. He's just busting his buttons. It's kind of cool.

PBM: Bill, you'll be retiring from your job as Warren's psychologist at the end of this school year. Are you going to follow in Swanee's footsteps and continue to coach in your retirement? And if so, how long will you keep going? And what about you, Swanee?

Werly: Chuck and I have talked about it a bit. We've got a really good freshman class that I think he would really like to see through. Maybe I'd see that through, too. We've talked about kind of walking off into the sunset together.

Swan: As long as someone wants me I'll be there, I think. When it stops being fun, when I don't want to go to practice anymore, then maybe I'll stop. Or if it ever gets to the point where I'm not (adding) anything, I hope someone will be kind enough to tell me that it's time to hang it up.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com