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CARMEL — Chuck Webster would have loved Saturday.
There is a subtle plaque in the cozy University High School gym — “reserved for Chuck Webster” it reads — on a post in the corner, just off the playing floor. It is where Webster would stand during University basketball games.
“Some people said he stood there because he didn’t want to be with me there in the stands,” said Nancy Webster, his wife of 39 years. “I’d get a little heated. My go-to when the coach started talking to the ref too much was, ‘Too much talking. Just gotta play basketball.’ So, Chuck didn’t sit by me much. But he loved standing over there.”
When Webster retired five years ago as the founding head of school at University, he did not want any fuss. No pictures. No speeches. The understated plaque was a compromise he appreciated.
Webster also would have enjoyed this underdog run University (20-9) has made to the Class 2A state finals on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Trailblazers will take on No. 4 Manchester (25-2). Webster, 76, died on Oct. 1 of glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor.
But in the months following her husband’s sudden passing, Nancy did not retreat from University. She kept coming to basketball games, boys and girls. She was there at the Hatchet House in Washington on Saturday when the Trailblazers clinched their first state finals appearance.
“I feel sad that he’s not here,” Nancy said. “Because he would have loved this. It’s horrible. It’s horrible timing. But there is also a piece of me that I feel like he’s with us.”
One of the first people to come up to Nancy after University’s 53-47 win over Parke Heritage on Saturday in the semistate championship was assistant coach John Fair. There is maybe nobody in the building who could have appreciated being there more.
Last February, for about a three-week stretch, Fair thought he was dying.
Fair underwent a long-awaited heart transplant in August of 2023. But not long after returning home, Fair got sick. He had COVID and pneumonia. His temperature skyrocketed.
“It was a bad experience,” Fair said. “Even though I got the heart transplant, all of this other stuff happened.”
Fair knows something about a brush with death. He was the girls coach at Speedway in 2007 when he collapsed during a game against Cascade. Thankfully, Speedway had a portable defibrillator in the gym and two fans in the crowd — both paramedics — brought Fair back. He never coached again after that season until Justin Blanding, then the girls coach at University, asked him to coach the girls with him in 2017. Fair’s daughter, Lilly, was on the team.
Fair has been alongside Blanding ever since. They won three regional titles with the girls, then moved over to the boys when previous coach Brandon Lafferman stepped aside to spend more time with his young family. That Blanding had that opportunity at all circles back to the foresight of Webster.
“He was the type of person that could see potential in people that they didn’t see in themselves,” Blanding said of Webster. “When I was trying to start my career, people were always like, ‘No, you are too young,’ or this and that. He didn’t look at any of those things. He just knows people.”
Blanding, after working with Fair for a few years, knew he wanted to have him on his staff as he made the transition from the girls to the boys. But last year, there was no way Fair could do it. But one of his biggest motivations was returning to coach this season.
Fair is 30 pounds lighter. He is on dialysis on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. He is on the call list for a kidney and liver transplant. He gets blood transfusions every two weeks. He sleeps about 12 hours per day.
But through all of those things, there is no one more thankful to set foot in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday than Fair.
“This has been phenomenal for me and my family,” Fair said. “This is my now my point of emphasis. These boys have been wonderful to me. I’ve been through a lot with basketball. I was out on the floor with cardiac arrest and they brought me back. I just wanted to come back and be part of it again.”
Last season, Blanding texted Fair at least weekly, often more, to keep Fair posted on the team and that he wanted him to return when he was ready. Fair had a catheterization scheduled at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for March 14. But in December, Fair had an inkling the Trailblazers might be playing in the regional. He was right. And some.
“Now I’m going to up in the first week of April to get everything checked out,” he said.
One of Fair’s biggest strengths as a coach is his attention to detail. He is mostly in tune with the University defense, making adjustments on that side of the court.
“He makes sure we’re doing the little things right,” University junior Cooper Cammack said. “A lot of the things teams kind of skip over, he makes sure there are no mistakes on the court. We wouldn’t be where we are without him. He’s a great guy and an essential piece of our team.”
Forget basketball. University would not even exist period without Webster.
In 1998, he made the decision to leave The Roeper School in Michigan after 19 years as a teacher, director and head of the school to start a new school in the Indianapolis area. It opened in 2000 as a nonsectarian, private school near 116th Street and Towne Road in west Carmel.
Webster, a devoted sports fan, believed in giving opportunities to students — all students. Nancy, who worked at University for 23 years, also credits the founding board at University for that philosophy.
“They put it in place that everybody is going to make the team,” Nancy said. “No cut. Now that doesn’t mean everybody makes the varsity team. But what they knew — and what Chuck and I firmly believe — is that that ability to participate on an athletic team is immeasurable. What those kids get from going to practices, listening to coaches and making the big mistake and then figuring out how not to … that experience really only happens in athletics.”
The detractors, Nancy said, heard “no cut” and translated it to “no win.” Greg Schellhase, now the athletic director at Zionsville, was the AD at University in those early days.
“Greg would have kids after school — and I’m not kidding — teaching them how to dribble,” Nancy said. “And there were kids who were great. But because we were ‘no cut’ we were going to teach everybody. Greg helped set that framework with Chuck.”
University did enjoy early success, winning a sectional title in its first year of eligibility in 2006. Five more sectional titles followed, including a run to the Class A semistate in 2013. But none of those teams were able to knock the door down and make it to the state finals.
Until this year. It is a shame Chuck is not here to see it.
“You’d see Chuck around here every single day,” Blanding said. “He was the head of school but he also taught English classes. He was at the plays, at the musicals, at our games. Everything. Nancy is our No. 1 fan. They are what are school is all about. It starts with them.”
Blanding, 43, believes he would not be where he is today without the Websters.
“He put in me in situations he knew would help me be a better person and professional,” Blanding said. “Nancy is the biggest protector of the school. She is always there for us and is always there to show her support.”
Nancy plans to be there Saturday, of course. Her son, Cullen Webster, carries on the family tradition as assistant athletic director at University.
“Chuck would have loved this,” Nancy said. “It’s candidly horrible he’s not here. But the boys are loving on us and coming up and thanking us. We’re doing OK. But we miss him every day.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball 2A state final: University playing with heavy hearts
Continue reading...
There is a subtle plaque in the cozy University High School gym — “reserved for Chuck Webster” it reads — on a post in the corner, just off the playing floor. It is where Webster would stand during University basketball games.
“Some people said he stood there because he didn’t want to be with me there in the stands,” said Nancy Webster, his wife of 39 years. “I’d get a little heated. My go-to when the coach started talking to the ref too much was, ‘Too much talking. Just gotta play basketball.’ So, Chuck didn’t sit by me much. But he loved standing over there.”
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When Webster retired five years ago as the founding head of school at University, he did not want any fuss. No pictures. No speeches. The understated plaque was a compromise he appreciated.
Webster also would have enjoyed this underdog run University (20-9) has made to the Class 2A state finals on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, where the Trailblazers will take on No. 4 Manchester (25-2). Webster, 76, died on Oct. 1 of glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor.
But in the months following her husband’s sudden passing, Nancy did not retreat from University. She kept coming to basketball games, boys and girls. She was there at the Hatchet House in Washington on Saturday when the Trailblazers clinched their first state finals appearance.
“I feel sad that he’s not here,” Nancy said. “Because he would have loved this. It’s horrible. It’s horrible timing. But there is also a piece of me that I feel like he’s with us.”
One of the first people to come up to Nancy after University’s 53-47 win over Parke Heritage on Saturday in the semistate championship was assistant coach John Fair. There is maybe nobody in the building who could have appreciated being there more.
***
Last February, for about a three-week stretch, Fair thought he was dying.
Fair underwent a long-awaited heart transplant in August of 2023. But not long after returning home, Fair got sick. He had COVID and pneumonia. His temperature skyrocketed.
“It was a bad experience,” Fair said. “Even though I got the heart transplant, all of this other stuff happened.”
Fair knows something about a brush with death. He was the girls coach at Speedway in 2007 when he collapsed during a game against Cascade. Thankfully, Speedway had a portable defibrillator in the gym and two fans in the crowd — both paramedics — brought Fair back. He never coached again after that season until Justin Blanding, then the girls coach at University, asked him to coach the girls with him in 2017. Fair’s daughter, Lilly, was on the team.
Fair has been alongside Blanding ever since. They won three regional titles with the girls, then moved over to the boys when previous coach Brandon Lafferman stepped aside to spend more time with his young family. That Blanding had that opportunity at all circles back to the foresight of Webster.
“He was the type of person that could see potential in people that they didn’t see in themselves,” Blanding said of Webster. “When I was trying to start my career, people were always like, ‘No, you are too young,’ or this and that. He didn’t look at any of those things. He just knows people.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Blanding, after working with Fair for a few years, knew he wanted to have him on his staff as he made the transition from the girls to the boys. But last year, there was no way Fair could do it. But one of his biggest motivations was returning to coach this season.
Fair is 30 pounds lighter. He is on dialysis on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings. He is on the call list for a kidney and liver transplant. He gets blood transfusions every two weeks. He sleeps about 12 hours per day.
But through all of those things, there is no one more thankful to set foot in Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday than Fair.
“This has been phenomenal for me and my family,” Fair said. “This is my now my point of emphasis. These boys have been wonderful to me. I’ve been through a lot with basketball. I was out on the floor with cardiac arrest and they brought me back. I just wanted to come back and be part of it again.”
Last season, Blanding texted Fair at least weekly, often more, to keep Fair posted on the team and that he wanted him to return when he was ready. Fair had a catheterization scheduled at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for March 14. But in December, Fair had an inkling the Trailblazers might be playing in the regional. He was right. And some.
“Now I’m going to up in the first week of April to get everything checked out,” he said.
One of Fair’s biggest strengths as a coach is his attention to detail. He is mostly in tune with the University defense, making adjustments on that side of the court.
“He makes sure we’re doing the little things right,” University junior Cooper Cammack said. “A lot of the things teams kind of skip over, he makes sure there are no mistakes on the court. We wouldn’t be where we are without him. He’s a great guy and an essential piece of our team.”
***
Forget basketball. University would not even exist period without Webster.
In 1998, he made the decision to leave The Roeper School in Michigan after 19 years as a teacher, director and head of the school to start a new school in the Indianapolis area. It opened in 2000 as a nonsectarian, private school near 116th Street and Towne Road in west Carmel.
You must be registered for see images attach
Webster, a devoted sports fan, believed in giving opportunities to students — all students. Nancy, who worked at University for 23 years, also credits the founding board at University for that philosophy.
“They put it in place that everybody is going to make the team,” Nancy said. “No cut. Now that doesn’t mean everybody makes the varsity team. But what they knew — and what Chuck and I firmly believe — is that that ability to participate on an athletic team is immeasurable. What those kids get from going to practices, listening to coaches and making the big mistake and then figuring out how not to … that experience really only happens in athletics.”
The detractors, Nancy said, heard “no cut” and translated it to “no win.” Greg Schellhase, now the athletic director at Zionsville, was the AD at University in those early days.
“Greg would have kids after school — and I’m not kidding — teaching them how to dribble,” Nancy said. “And there were kids who were great. But because we were ‘no cut’ we were going to teach everybody. Greg helped set that framework with Chuck.”
University did enjoy early success, winning a sectional title in its first year of eligibility in 2006. Five more sectional titles followed, including a run to the Class A semistate in 2013. But none of those teams were able to knock the door down and make it to the state finals.
Until this year. It is a shame Chuck is not here to see it.
“You’d see Chuck around here every single day,” Blanding said. “He was the head of school but he also taught English classes. He was at the plays, at the musicals, at our games. Everything. Nancy is our No. 1 fan. They are what are school is all about. It starts with them.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Blanding, 43, believes he would not be where he is today without the Websters.
“He put in me in situations he knew would help me be a better person and professional,” Blanding said. “Nancy is the biggest protector of the school. She is always there for us and is always there to show her support.”
Nancy plans to be there Saturday, of course. Her son, Cullen Webster, carries on the family tradition as assistant athletic director at University.
“Chuck would have loved this,” Nancy said. “It’s candidly horrible he’s not here. But the boys are loving on us and coming up and thanking us. We’re doing OK. But we miss him every day.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IHSAA basketball 2A state final: University playing with heavy hearts
Continue reading...
