Scott McClelland’s Coaching Philosophy
My philosophy of coaching basketball is more than teaching X’s and O’s to student-athletes. Basketball is a way to teach lessons of everyday life. It is an opportunity to educate players about teamwork, commitment, discipline, and most of all perseverance. It is about recognizing the uniqueness of each individual and communicating their role as part of a team. As the head coach, my responsibility is to encourage each player to achieve their potential, but understand the trials and tribulations of team success and failure. In order to do all of these things, I must recognize that for excellence to take place, different teaching/coaching styles are essential to reach every player.
In coaching basketball, we should aim to promote the love of the game, not the championships or the recognition that come with it. It is essential to teach players about setting goals and achieving them. It is important to help them understand adversity and persistence and the patience that it sometimes takes to be successful.
As a leader of the basketball program, I not only promote this philosophy to my players, but to my coaching staff so that they understand our commitment to do the simple and fundamental things — compete, be a great teammate, be coachable, and accept your role.
Basketball Biography
Summary of Coaching Experience
I started my basketball coaching career in 1995 as an assistant in a very successful girls program at Yorktown High School under Connie Lyon whose team record during a three-year period was 56-10 and included multiple Sectional, County and Conference championships.
In 1998-1999, I was named the Varsity Girls Basketball Coach of Wapahani High School where the team’s record improved from the previous year’s 4-17 to 11-11, and lead to a Sectional Championship.
Beginning in 2000, I made a move to boys basketball and for three years worked as a Varsity Assistant at Blue River Valley High School (State Runner Up 2001), Cathedral High School and Scecina Memorial High School (Sectional Champions 2003).
In August 2003, I was named Morristown Jr. Sr. High School Head Boys Basketball Coach. I spent 7 seasons at Morristown building teams that compiled multiple winning seasons, two Shelby County Championships (2005 & 2006), a Sectional Championship (2007), and assisted players in advancing with college basketball scholarships.
In 2010, I decided to enhance my coaching experience by taking the Brebeuf Jesuit College Preparatory School Head Boys Basketball Coaching position where I coached for two seasons, compiled 25 wins, coached two teams that were ranked in the top ten in 3A and included two All-State players and four players that advanced with college basketball scholarships. I would have stayed at Brebeuf, but budget cuts eliminated my position as Assistant Athletic Director so I decided to move on.
In 2012, I moved to Western Boone Jr-Sr. High School to be the Head Boys Basketball Coach for three seasons where I was able achieve my 100th career win and assisted two players in advancing with college basketball scholarships.
In 2015, I was asked to return to Morristown Jr. Sr. High School, where the program I had left in 2010 had recently experienced losing seasons and changes in head coaches. In my six years back, I worked hard to send the program in a winning direction compiling a 117-40 record that includes three Shelby County Championships (2017, 2018, 2019), four 1A Sectional Championship appearances (2016 & 2017, 2020, 2021), contended for three Mid-Hoosier Conference Championships (2017 & 2018, 2020) and personally achieved my 100th win as Morristown’s Coach. In 2017-2018, Morristown won the Wheeler North/South holiday tournament beating schools from all classes and jump-started the tournament run to the State Championship. Morristown won the 2018 1A Sectional/Regional/Semi-State/State Championships, beat 5 top ten ranked teams in the tournament run, and broke 10 state records in the championship game. The 2018 team holds the school record for most wins in a single season (28). In 2018-2019, Morristown won the Shelby County, Mid-Hoosier Conference, and IHSAA sectional 60 championships. In 2019-2020, the team finished with a record of 18-7 while being ranked again in the top ten throughout most of the season. In 2020-2021, the team finished with a record of 20-5 was ranked 6th in the final 1A poll.
Finally in 2021, I made the move to Noblesville High School. Where we won the 2023 Sectional 8 Championship for the first time in 13 years. In the last couple of years we have finished tied for 2nd place in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, had back-to-back winning seasons (last time was 2014-2015/2015-2016) and most wins in a season (19-7 in 2022-2023) since the 2009-2010 basketball season.
Other Personal Achievements:
- 1999 Mid-Eastern Conference Coach of the Year
- 2007 Shelby County Coach of the Year
- 2015-2016 Outstanding New Teacher Award (Morristown High School)
- 2018 IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year
- 2018 Shelby County Coach of the Year
- 2018 Indiana Junior All Stars Assistant Coach
- 2018 Morristown Lions Club “Citizen of the Year”
- 2019 Mid-Hoosier Conference Coach of the Year
- 2019 Shelby County Coach of the year
- 2019 Selected Head Coach Hoosier Gym All Star Classic
- 2019 achieved 200th win as a varsity boys’ basketball coach
- 2019 became All-time winningest coach at Morristown High School
- 2020 Shelby County Coach of the year
- 2020-20201 Inductee to the Delaware County Athletic Hall of Fame (Coach)
I am a member of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association and have been selected to coach the top 100 underclassmen workout for several years. I am in the Wellness Department at Noblesville High School. I like to spend my free time boating and fishing.