Positively driven: Fenton coach Taft making a difference in players’ lives despite personal tragedies

Amid the sounds of dozens of bouncing basketballs inside Fenton High School's gym, coach Chaz Taft's eyes glisten as he talks about how he's dealt with a pair of tragedies that would have consumed lesser men.

Last February, Taft and ex-wife Jenna lost 13-year-old son Bennet to an asthma attack. Sixteen months before that, Taft's 18-month-old son nearly drowned in his backyard pool. Chaz performed CPR to revive Cameron, but the now 4-year-old is unable to speak or walk.

“These guys are a huge part of helping me through this,” Taft said of his 17-3 Bison squad. “I've got a great staff and everybody helps.

“My other kids will be here sometimes. They love the guys and the guys love them. They're throwing the football around. It's like a big family atmosphere. It's fun.

“I try to stay busy and keep my mind off it. But at the same time, it's like, how do you do that?”

The accident

On Oct. 10, 2021, a party to celebrate Chaz's current wife Maureen's 40th birthday was just getting started when the stove suddenly went out.

A few minutes passed as Chaz identified the problem.

Meanwhile, guests were running food out to the garage refrigerator, leaving the door open.

In just those few moments, Cam apparently toddled outside.

After coming out from behind the stove, Chaz asked, “Where's Cam?”

Nobody knew, but Chaz had a bad feeling that was confirmed when he reached the pool.

He jumped in, pulled out his son and administered CPR. Cam began breathing, but the little boy “went down again” in the ambulance, where paramedics revived him once again.

Cam stayed at Lurie Children's Hospital for six weeks, then was admitted to Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, a rehab hospital in Chicago, for seven weeks.

“It's crazy,” said Chaz, who became Fenton's head coach in 2016 but took the 2021-22 season off. “There are so many of these accidents that people just don't know about. It's very common for kids who are 1-4. You hear about it — you just don't want it to be you.”

Cam goes to therapy five days a week, uses an AAC device that allows him to communicate and uses a hyberbaric oxygen chamber, which allows patients to breath 100% pure oxygen.

Chaz has no idea what Cam's long-term future looks like, saying “anything is possible” when asked if he might be able to speak one day. “ As much stuff as we're putting him through in getting him better, we're hoping.”

Maureen has been documenting Cam's story since the accident at supercamstrong.org.

The unthinkable

Fenton put together one of the most impressive seasons in school history in 2022-23, going 24-7 in the regular season and finishing second in the Upstate Eight Conference at 15-3.

An unfortunate wrist injury to Nick Tinajero in the season finale left the Bison short-handed, however, and they lost the regional opener 43-39 to Carmel on Feb. 22.

Just five days later, Taft's ex-wife called with horrific news about their 13-year-old son.

“She just said, 'Bennet's not going to make it,’ ” Chaz said.

Bennet, who loved sports and had just celebrated his birthday eight days prior, died of an asthma attack.

The entire team attended Bennet's memorial service, as did hundreds of others.

“The support from the Fenton students, former players, staff members — it was just incredible. You could tell he's well loved in the community,” said Todd Becker, Fenton's athletic director from 2012-23.

To honor Bennet's memory, a Whiffle ball tournament was held in Itasca in September. Fifty-five teams, with players ranging from first grade to adults, took part. Proceeds went toward a scholarship set up for a student at Lake Park High School, where Bennet would have attended.

Taft's resilience and strength has left Becker and many of Fenton's players in awe.

“I have two daughters myself — and I'm speechless,” Becker said. “As you talk to other ADs and they ask how it's going, you just get teary-eyed. It's going OK, but you can't put it into words what he's been through.

“He's just so strong — a stronger person than I am, I can tell you that. Great support. His family, his wife's family. I mean so much surrounding him.

“Then just his energy and love for the game. He just gives it all to basketball and coaching these kids.”

The team

While willing to open up about these twin tragedies, Chaz Taft, a 1996 Fenton grad, also wanted to make one thing abundantly clear: Let's not forget about his players.

“This group of guys means a lot to me and my coaching staff,” said Taft, whose team is 8-0 in the Upstate Eight Conference. “I feel they have more of an impact on my life than I do on theirs.”

Taft implemented the 1-3-1 zone in 2019, not long after seeing Moneyball, the 2011 film that stars Brad Pitt and details how Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane built a winner by using analytics.

“I've seen it 100 times,” Taft said with a wide smile.

It only took one time, however, for the 46-year-old to realize he could use the film's tenets and apply them to high school basketball. Taft's stat sheet looks like it came right out of Sabermetrics University, but the three main factors he zeroes in on are: Turn the ball over less than 20% of the time; grab 70% or more of the defensive rebounds; and have an effective field-goal percentage of 50% or higher.

The 1-3-1 defense is a huge reason why those goals are met during most games.

“We cause havoc,” said point guard Xavior Gonzalez, who has returned after missing last season with an ACL injury and is averaging 20 points, 3.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game. “It gets really tiring, but I'm still gonna push for this team. I love these guys. I want to win.”

Said Alejandro Diaz, a Daily Herald All-Area selection last season: “Coach is always telling us to be a pest on the ball and always having our hands up. That takes away a lot of vision. We just hustle. It won't work if everybody just sits around.”

As tired as the players get, Taft works up quite a sweat during games as well.

“He's jumping around just as much as the kids,” assistant Cameron Kopp said. “Defensively, we want the kids to fly around all the time — and when the players look over and see their coach flying around on the bench, it's pretty easy for them to get in that mindset.”

With Gonzalez pestering opponents at the top of the zone, Diaz (17 ppg.) is in the middle, Damian Harnish (5.8 ppg.) and Angel Olea (1.5 steals) are on the wings, and Brandon Block (8.4 ppg.) is down low. Although just 6-foot-1, Diaz averages a team-best 6.4 rebounds while knocking down 64% of his 2-point shots. Miguel Sanchez (4.9 ppg.) and junior Eddie Lira (1.4 steals) are also big contributors.

Taft loves seeing the kids' progress, much of it coming because of two significant incentives:

∎ A Wrestlemania-type belt given to the best defender after every game.

∎ A Kobe Bryant jersey awarded to the previous week's best practice player.

“That kind of goes with how we turned it,” Taft said. “We want to make everything as competitive as possible.”

Special reminders

When Taft eulogized Bennet, he marveled at his son's extraordinary ability to see the game like a coach.

“He always wanted to learn more about how to be better at the games that he loved,” Taft said.

Bennet dreamed of catching for his older brother, Bryce, in high school and of going to Vanderbilt University on a baseball scholarship. He also loved rides home with his dad, especially when Chaz would “beep-beep-beep” the car horn as Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline blared through the speakers.

As difficult as the last two-plus years have been, Chaz found a way to pay tribute to both his sons by having custom-made sneakers created. Chaz reached out to Marla Burleson, whose son-in-law is on Eric Musselman's coaching staff at the University of Arkansas, to see if she could make his dream come true.

“Absolutely, coach,” she responded.

Cam's nickname is SuperCam, so Chaz made that shoe red, blue and yellow, symbolizing Superman. Bennet's shoe displays Vanderbilt's colors, black and gold, and includes a halo above the No. 8. He also asked for one side to read “Fly High Bennet,” which was part of a tribute one student wrote at Peacock Jr. High the day after Bennet died.

“Every time I put those shoes on, it's very emotional for me with tears and smiles,” Taft said. “So many memories go through my mind when I look at their faces on the shoes. When I wear them, I know they are both with me and our family every step of the way — in both life's journey and basketball's journey.”

Taft's ability to stay positive, coach a team and lead young men is beyond amazing. Gonzalez said “he takes care of you like a son. He wants the very best for you no matter what you're trying to do in life.”

It's truly inspiring, almost beyond words. But Chaz — after taking a deep breath to collect his thoughts — found plenty to hopefully help those going through similar travails.

“Just stay positive,” he said. “I mean, it's got to get better.

“It's also about having a good support system around you. My family is really, really good with that. They're always there, like, 'Hey, you guys need anything?'

“A lot of people may not have an out — and this is my out. These guys are with me every day. I'm trying to be positive with them — and that helps me, but that also helps them. It always brings you back to reality.

“My ex-wife and I both have an urn in the house. I see it every day.

“Then you come to work and you've got to worry about these guys — but it's always on your mind.”