Alchesay's Rick Sanchez chosen Arizona HS Girls Basketball Coach of the Year

The Arizona Republic's 2018-19 Arizona High School Girls Basketball Coach of the Year:

Rick Sanchez

School: Whiteriver Alchesay.

Season recap: A 1973 graduate of Alchesay, Sanchez was an assistant to both the boys and girls programs at the school for 32 years. This was his first year as a head coach, and it almost didn't happen. Alchesay was in need of a coach and Sanchez agreed to lead the girls, hired on Sept. 19, just a few weeks before the start of the season. The girls didn't participate in summer activities because there was no head coach. He took this team to the 2A state championship, rallying to beat Scottsdale Christian 40-36 in the final.

There was uncertainty for that last game, with the team not knowing if the record snow n northern Arizona would delay the final four. It went on, but the championship game was moved from Prescott Valley to the Valley. At first, it was scheduled for Gilbert Highland High School. But realizing that venue would be too small to hold the Alchesay fans from the White Mountain Apache Indian Reservation, the game was moved to Gila River Arena in Glendale.

"The snow was terrible," Sanchez said. "And not knowing where we would play was tough. But we tried not to let it affect us. We just wanted to get into a place big enough to hold our fans and we'd be ready to play. It worked out with a lot of effort to get there and play the game at the right time."

Principal Leeann Lacapa called Sanchez a strategic coach who relied on basic fundamentals of the game to get his players ready.

"Coach Sanchez hit the ground running and had a well-thought out plan to begin the season," she said. "One thing I appreciate most about Rick is that he knows that being a coach is about more than just the sport, it’s also about life.

"He has high expectations of himself and his team and uses basketball to teach character, work ethic, discipline and perseverance."

Through the tough competition (the team went 26-7), the players began to believe in themselves, and won their last seven games after losing to Sanders Valley.

"We instilled in them that no adversity was going to bother us," Sanchez said. "We lost a few but the losses were pivotal things, because they knew they didn't  play well. They worked on cleaning things up and playing fundamental basketball."

Others considered for Coach of the Year:

Bob Fredericks, Scottsdale Christian: He added the girls coaching duties to an already loaded plate, leading both the boys and girls programs. But he kept the nucleus in tact during an uncertain time, and led the Eagles to the 2A final.

Courtland Rojeck, Goodyear Millennium: He basically took a bunch of neighborhood-raised players and built this into the best team in Arizona, regardless of conference, winning the 5A title and not losing to an Arizona team.

Trevor Neider, Chandler Hamilton: Led the Huskies to the 6A title for the second time in three years.

To suggest human-interest story ideas and other news, reach Obert at richard.obert@arizonarepublic.com or 602-316-8827. Follow him at twitter.com/azc_obert.