Three years as an assistant coach at St. Mary’s-Colgan middle and high school helped prepare former Iolan Clint Heffern for a head coaching position.
On Monday, Fort Scott High School announced Heffern would be taking over its boys basketball program next season. Heffern said he had learned of the position near the end of last year, and was immediately intrigued by the prestige built by previous coach, Jeff DeLaTorre.
“I’m extremely excited, and I have to keep pinching myself because it doesn’t seem real,” Heffern said. “To be having this opportunity at such a great place like Fort Scott, that has built such a great reputation and has tradition… I’m just extremely excited.”
For the past three years, Heffern served as an assistant football, basketball, and baseball coach at St. Mary’s-Colgan. He graduated from Pittsburg State in 2017.This year Heffern also served as the athletic director at the middle school along with assisting during the high school’s summer weights program. In the classroom, Heffern taught social studies and P.E. at the high school.
Working at a private school with a solid reputation on and off the field, along with juggling an absurd amount of duties, has set Heffern on the right path as he prepares for a program of his own.
“I feel like it has given me a ton of good experience by seeing so many different things, and how other coaches operate,” Heffern said. “Colgan has some really good coaches who were awesome role models. I learned by seeing how they interact with kids.”
While Heffern didn’t capture a state title with the Panthers, taking second in football, basketball and baseball his first year, he learned a major lesson through his long postseason journeys. How to win.
“At Iola, I thought we were competitive, but this position has helped me gain some experience that I have just never had,” Heffern said. “Just as far as competing in the postseason, competing for state titles every year — it has helped me learn how to approach situations and how big certain decisions can be for a coach with those opportunities in the postseason.”
Colgan’s wins couldn’t have come without good coaching. In fact, Heffern highlights his peers’ knowledge of the game and expectations of their athletes that have helped form his philosophy for the future.
Still, no lesson could have paid any more benefit than learning how to flat out handle kids.
“I can’t get over how good Coach Watt is at handling kids,” Heffern said. “All of the coaches at Colgan hold their athletes to a high standard as well as themselves. Now I know when I have a conversation with a kid, or address a certain issue, to make sure I am standing up to those high expectations.”
BECOMING a head coach has been a goal of Heffern’s for some time. Ever since he stepped foot on the floor at Iola for his freshman year back in 2008 under freshman coach Luke Bycroft, Heffern knew coaching was in his future.
“He has been a great role model and mentor to me. He actually gave one of my buddies, Jarred Latta, and I the opportunity to help coach one of his kid’s traveling baseball teams. I think that started to get the ball rolling, and in high school I always wanted to be around sports.”
A dream eight years in the making has now come true. That Heffern once competed as a Mustang against Fort Scott when it was in the SEK league is an added bonus.
And while Fort Scott and Iola may no longer be league rivals, there’s a chance that Heffern could run into Iola at some point.
