By Scott Doane
UWRF Sports Information

Sometimes in sports, after an athlete's playing days have come and gone, the athlete decides to take the sidelines again. Not by staging an amazing comeback, but by becoming a coach.   

Senior Nick Hall is one of those athletes who would enjoy coaching the sport he has been involved with ever since he could walk.

"I would still love to be a coach at some time," Hall said about possibly coaching in the future, "it's always been a passion and a dream of mine. I'd take it on as a challenge and try to do the best I could."

Hall does have some experience coaching already. He has helped coach his younger sister's high school team and his younger brother's teams during the summer.

Hall's coach at UW-River Falls, Rick Bowen, says that having Hall around is like having an extra assistant coach. He says that Hall's biggest asset is his knowledge of the game and what he brings to practice.

Even though Hall's playing time have been reduced this season due to the stellar play of point guard Ryan Thompson, Hall still contributes a lot to the team.  

"No one understands the game like Nick," Bowen said about the senior guard. "Nick's one of those guys that's a coach waiting to happen. No one understands what I want done on the court better than Nick."

Hall believes his knowledge of the game comes from his many years of being around basketball. His basketball career started when he was six months old.  

Hall's father has been a coach in Hall's hometown of Glenwood City, Wis. He took Hall to his practices while his mother worked. Even though Hall's father didn't coach him directly, he has always helped develop his game.

"I've listen to different coaches speak a lot of times because my Dad's been a coach," Hall explains, "he goes to clinics and stuff and I usually try to tag along."

When Hall does want to start coaching, he will have a lot of good experience in the field of managing people. Hall is an elementary education major. He is also very involved with the Leadership Center and Student Athlete Advisory Committee.   He manages the officials for all of the intramural sports on campus

"You get to meet a bunch of people," Hall says about his work, "people I probably wouldn't have met if I wasn't doing it. It puts you in a nice spot to learn how to manage people."

Hall believes that his job will put him in a good position in the future. He says that managing the officials will help him for his future career as a teacher when he must manage students.

Hall doesn't really know what specific grade he would like to teach. He has enjoyed his experiences with both old and younger kids and he'll just see where he'll end up.

In his spare time, Hall is like most college students. He enjoys hanging out with friends going to movies and playing video games. He is also very involved with extra-curricular activities.

As for his expectations and goals for the remainder of the season, Hall is very optimistic.   He believes he and his team can finish out the year on a high note.  

He admits that the team is pretty young, but a few wins to end the season will give them good momentum going into the WIAC tournament.

"It's very possible for us to get on a little streak," Hall said. "We weren't expecting to be conference champs for the regular season. If we could be playing the best basketball that we can at the end of the year, we could possibly go out and win the conference tournament and get into the NCAA Tournament."  

Even though Hall's playing time has been cut back this season, Bowen praises Hall's attitude and work ethic.

"Nick is caught in kind of a tough place," Bowen said. "I really wish he was playing more. He's one of those types of players that only coaches understand and appreciate. Every team has got to have a Nick Hall on it. He really dedicates himself to the game."

Nick Hall