LINDEN — North Montgomery is honoring Chuck Kriston on Friday.
There is so much to honor.
The first basketball coach at the new North Montgomery High School back in 1971, Kriston had the honor of coaching the first win for the Chargers.
He went on to an 18-4 record that first season, and won a WRC conference championship, the first of three in a four-year stretch.
He won the first sectional championship a couple years later, the first of four crowns.
After 109 wins, he settled into 19 more years at North as AD, which happened to include two state football championships.
Former players are coming back, former coaches who worked with him are coming back, most of his family is coming back to remember a career of success at North.
The first three mentions, however, were his first assistant coaches.
“Tom Speaker, Dick VanArsdel and Ron Denhart were just tremendous guys to work with,” Kriston said. “Around the school, there were some of the Linden folks, Darlington folks, Waynetown folks, but that was never evident with the basketball guys. We knew from the first practice that we had a good squad, and their 18 wins and conference championship proved that. I’ll always remember our first sectional championship against Crawfordsville, and we won the game on a Roger Campbell shot. We had a motor offense that we called the ‘quick-down’ and we ran the play just as we designed it. Vance Pyle was on the radio, and asked why I didn’t call a timeout. I just said that we had the play, knew the play and ran the play.”
Those plays, and those players, still recall the Coach.
“I was fortunate to play for Coach for three special years at a time when Hoosier hysteria was high,” said Tom Price. “My senior year team in 1979/80 included some close-knit guys who simply loved to play hoops. We were not the biggest, the fastest nor the most athletic, but Coach knew exactly how to get the very most out of our abilities. We loved playing for Coach. We had the utmost respect for him, and he instilled a sense of confidence in us. His teams were a testament that playing hard, fundamental, and unselfish basketball would always give you a chance to win. Like my teammates, my fondest, yet bittersweet, memory was the regional championship game in 1980. This was also Coach’s last game. A win would send us to the semi-state. Although we lost in overtime in one of the biggest games in NMHS basketball history, Coach had put us in a position to win the game. That year was special. Thank you again, Coach, for all that you have done for NMHS basketball and for being a positive influence in my life.”
Kriston also remembered a little coaching goof.
“Jeff Ryker had 35 points in a sectional game and I took him out because we had a big lead. I found out afterwards that the school record was 36. I apologized but he said ‘No worries, Coach — we won the game.”
Stu Weliever, who is the organizer behind the Friday events, also played for Kriston.
“North started out in the Wabash River Conference but jumped to the Sagamore Conference by the time I played. Brownsburg, Noblesville, Frankfort, Lebanon, C’ville was stiff competition. Coach played a motion offense — pass and pick away was the mantra with lots of cross screens in the lane.
A hard-nosed man to man defense was the norm but we played some 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone depending upon the opponent and situation. A lot of emphasis on help defense and taking the charge if somebody drove to the hoop.
I recall running lots of ‘suicides’ as a part of conditioning and a particular drill of rolling the ball from one end of the court to the other and making a player run and dive onto the ball that hurt a few times and left some bruises.
Coach had a bit of a reputation of having a fiery personality and I recall him getting T’ed up a few times. More Bob Knight than John Wooden was his style.”
Kriston’s fiery coaching style was mentioned by everyone. More than one former player, coach or spectator recalled the beating that the score table at North took over the years
Coaches recalled that intensity.
“Chuck was an outstanding basketball coach — teams were well coached and his record speaks for itself,” noted Ron Hendricks. I was at North Montgomery when Chuck was athletic director. He was an outstanding director and ran a first-class program and the teams were always excellent. I always enjoyed my relationship with Chuck both on and off the court.”
Kriston, a native of Valparaiso, stayed at home and attended Valpo University. He is also a member of the University Athletics Hall of Fame. He played basketball and baseball in college, and was on the track team one season. “They wanted me to high jump,” he said.
After finishing his college career, military obligations awaited, but not until he was drafted by the Boston Celtics and was the last guy cut.
“I developed a friendship with Bob Cousy (Celtics star guard) and he was really trying to help get me on the roster,” Kriston said. “It just didn’t happen. Bob went to the Cincinnati Royals (NBA team) a couple years later, and he called me to come try out with them, but by then I had lost a step. It was a great honor to be asked back though, and would have been fun, because Oscar Robertson was playing with the Royals.”
Coaching was next on the agenda for the young coach, and his first stop was at North Knox, followed by time at Seeger. It was there that he found out about the opening at the new North Montgomery High School, and he was hired.
“My first game at North was on the road back at Seeger,” Kriston recalled, “and the very next night we had to go to Crawfordsville. That was my first game against Coach (Paul) Curtis. We managed to win them both.”
There were many more wins, and championships, and then it was 19 years as Athletic Director.
With more championships, including two state football titles.
“Three words describe Chuck Kriston for me,” said Charley German, the head coach of those two football squads. “Perfectionist, Loyal and Workaholic.”
“There was never a blade of grass out of place,” German said of the football complex. “We had the best field in the state, and it was due to Chuck. He hand-watered the field and the practice fields, he lined the field and took care of everything. He was not an office guy — he took care of all the facilities.”
“He was loyal to his coaches. Nothing ever got outside the building. We had our disagreements, of course, but he always handled everything in the best way possible, and he always had our (coaches) backs. When he retired in 1999 and I took over as AD, he left everything in perfect order.”
“His work ethic was second to none. He was the first person on the scene every day and he was the last guy locking the doors. We had so many details with the two runs to the football championships, and Chuck took care of every detail. All I had to do was coach the team. He was always so meticulous.”
There were many other former players that came to Kriston’s mind in a reminiscing conversation.
“We had guys like Ken Bullerdick, who had such a good first move with the ball, that we had to talk with officials before games to make them aware he wasn’t travelling, and I’ll always remember how Joe Enlow gave a speech to the team after he had missed a free throw at the end of a game. It was so incredibly special,” he continued, wiping away a few tears. Enlow now has a son playing for the Chargers.
Bruce Rush was a member of the last team that Kriston coached.
“Looking back 45 years to when I was lucky enough to have played for a coach like Chuck, I think of how big of influence he had on my career in management at FedEx,” he said. “Chuck taught me how to be a leader, how to hold people accountable and to coach my team to achieve and perform at a high level in pressure situations. Class act is what I think of when someone talks about Coach. I just wish our 1980 team could have gotten him a much-deserved trip to Mackey for the semi-state. We came up 2 points short in overtime of the regional championship game at Frankfort. And finally, a few weeks later I learned a hard lesson that life is not fair when he was let go as head coach by a politically motivated school board. I was the only player at that school board meeting that night and it was like a seen from Hoosiers. He was fired before a vote was ever taken. Our team went farther than any North Montgomery team ever but the coach gets let go. It’s been 45 years but I am still pissed because he didn’t deserve the way he was treated but he held his head high and was a successful AD. I am not ashamed to say other than my father and father-in-law Chuck Kriston had the most impact on me being the man I am today.”
Kriston, who was also a big influencer in getting girls sports started and going at the high school level, will be honored at halftime of North’s Friday game against Seeger.
He and his family, wife Teresa and children Kerri, Tony and Chelsea, will be there early to chat with players and friends. Another daughter, Lacey, will not attend, and if you need something to start the conversation ask about his grandson, Cooper Noard, who starts for the Cornell basketball team.
From the first North game back in late 1971 through Friday, it’s time to honor Chuck Kriston.
A man for all sports and all seasons.
