‘My story is still being written’: Former Fremd basketball star is now writing children’s books

It is inevitable in a competitive athlete’s life that for whatever reason — age, injury, dwindling passion, business decision — it becomes time to leave the arena.

Former Fremd High School basketball star Zach Monaghan, captain of the 2011 Daily Herald Cook County All-Area Boys Basketball Team, came to that realization for a combination of reasons.

But after nine seasons as a professional player in Europe, six of them as a fan favorite assist machine for Leyma Coruña in Spain, his focus has shifted and sharpened around the same theme of basketball — as a children’s book author.

Written and illustrated by Monaghan, “The Basketball Baby,” dedicated to his father and first coach, Dale Monaghan, attempts to inspire children 4-12 to pursue their goals with perseverance and self-belief.

As the book’s tagline says, with “A Ball and a Dream.”

“It’s my form of keeping that passion for basketball,” said Monaghan, 32, who lives in Huntley. “I think I can have a greater impact on the world, on life, than I had chasing my own dream.”

It was a great dream. After following his brothers Pat and Matt (Pat’s now an assistant coach at the University of Wyoming) at Fremd, Zach Monaghan was a 2014 Division II All-American at Minnesota State who helped the Mavericks go 82-18 in three seasons after transferring from South Dakota State.

As a junior in 2013-14 the 6-foot-2 point guard averaged 15.4 points and 8.1 assists to earn Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference player of the year honors for a 30-5 team. He led the NSIC in assists all three seasons in Mankato.

Then he built a life in Spain, where he played for Leyma Coruña in three separate two-year periods, along with brief and unsatisfying stints in Belgium and Bulgaria.

While averaging 10.1 points and 4.2 assists for Coruña he helped the club draw crowds, children wore his jersey on the street, and Monaghan even worked with local government to build a community basketball court.

Yet after one of many coaching changes he was not re-signed after the 2021-22 season. “Blindsided,” he called it.

He tried one more season for a team in Marin but tore up a knee while backpedaling downcourt. Paired with past injuries and “the element of being on the other side of the world,” he said, Monaghan gave it up.

After his shock at not being re-signed by Leyma Coruña, however, he used his down time to learn online animation. It led to Basketball Baby, which Monaghan said has been a form of post-career therapy.

“I’ve always been creative and enjoyed art a lot, so I was able to develop these characters wearing diapers and just ran with it,” he said.

(Monaghan still gets on the court, as a coach with the Fox Valley Force girls travel program, plus game-day operations and as a practice player with the Chicago Sky.)

In addition to the book, available on Amazon.com and at thebasketballbaby.com, he’s also designed children’s learning workbooks on themes of basketball, baseball, football and soccer, developed a journal, and a Basketball Baby coloring book that came online at Amazon this Wednesday.

“The game has been so fortunate to me and showed me the world, and introduced me to so many incredible people. If you work hard and believe in yourself and believe in your dreams, it really will take you incredible places,” Monaghan said.

On and off the court.

“My story,” Monaghan said, “is still being written.”

doberhelman@dailyherald.com