On the one-year anniversary of the passing of Steve McKean, Byron Vaetoe reflects back on his relationship with the legendary coach – and what ‘Coach’ meant to him and others.
So I first met Coach in the early 80’s as he was coaching the DB Auckland team. I remember he was very approachable, I had been playing with Altos Auckland (with Stan Hill), and in 1989 he coached myself and Ben Anthony.
After that season, Coach got a job offer to helm the DowElanco Bulls in 1990 in New Plymouth and he recruited me. He didn’t have to recruit me very heavily as I was going there with him regardless – I would have gone to Te Kuiti if Coach has got that job too (no disrespect to Te Kuiti!).
Coach was always larger than life. He was not just a Coach to me, but a mentor, a father figure and a friend. He taught me more about life and making me understand that relationships with people is everything, and that the connections you make playing the game of basketball will last a lifetime.
I remember he would call me every year Boxing Day to see how I was, so on 26 Dec I could always expect a call from him. He loved to talk about the landscape of basketball in New Zealand, he was a fan of certain players both male and female, and he would discuss how they played the game.
Coach mentored me throughout my roles with Sport Bay of Plenty / BBNZ over this past decade, as he was at Sport Taranaki himself. He said that building relationships is the most important factor in our role.
I remember something that he always quoted; “many are called, few are chosen”. He would then say to me “B.V. you are chosen, now go and be great!”
Coach was a loving husband to Rachel and a loving father to Naomi, they went everywhere together and shared each other dreams and aspirations in life. Rachel was his rock, his biggest fan and supporter – she was always by his side at every event.
As a year has passed, I have seriously thought of Coach every day because of my current role in my community. What would Coach do? How would Coach do that? So, his fingerprints are not only with me, but with hundreds of young athletes whom he has blessed over the years.
Coach was always a man of principles and believed you should treat people how you would love to be treated yourself. He would offer hope when no one else would, he would motivate you when no one else would, he would believe in you when no one else was willing to.
I would run through a brick wall for Coach.
I – and many others – will remember him for being a great Coach in our little New Zealand, but more importantly we will remember him for making a difference in our lives.
Byron Vaetoe is a New Zealand basketball icon, who enjoyed a decade-long career in both the Kiwi NBL and for the Tall Blacks through the 1980s and ‘90s. Vaetoe was named the league’s outstanding New Zealand guard four times (1988, ’89, ’91 and ’93), was Kiwi MVP in ’91 while with the New Plymouth Bulls. In 2021 he was named at No. 11 on the NBL 40in40 countdown, which honoured the 40 greatest players in 40 years of the New Zealand NBL.
He is now based in the Bay of Plenty, where he is the CoachForce Officer as part of BBNZ’s Community team.
