For 23 Years, Katella’s Danley Has Found His Way Is the Winning Way

He’s a great motivator, but hardly an innovator. So tough, he sometimes appears insensitive. Expects 100% because anything less is unacceptable. A regimented drill instructor.

For 23 years, Thomas Andrew Danley has done things his way as basketball coach at Katella High School. His success often has had little to do with strategy. Instead, he has relied more on salesmanship.

For the most part, Danley has won with average players. Sure, he has had stars such as Bob Erbst, Richard Lucas, Ray Donnelly, Mike Dunn, Roger Lemons and Rick Aberegg. But Danley also has convinced plenty of role players that they could win by giving the extra effort.

Located in Anaheim, Katella is a long way from the basketball hotbeds of Long Beach, Inglewood or Compton. But few can argue with Danley’s record. Consider:

* His teams have a 447-156 record, a winning percentage of .741, the most successful basketball program over the past 2 decades in Orange County.

* Championship banners representing 14 league titles hang in Katella’s gymnasium.

* The biggest testimony to Danley’s success is that Katella qualified for the Southern Section playoffs an unprecedented 22 consecutive years before the streak ended last season.

The Knights’ trademark has been a man-to-man pressing defense and double-post offense. Simplicity is the name of Danley’s game.

He often is seen kneeling near the bench dressed in his customary red sports jacket. Katella’s style of play mirrors its coach--aggressive, relentless and hard-nosed.

“He has taken the minimum and gotten the maximum out of kids for years,” said Greg Hoffman, Western’s coach. “The guy is the hardest-working man I’ve ever met in my life.”

Danley has repeatedly said that the game is his outlet, that he coaches the way some play golf as a hobby. His selling points are pride, dignity, self-discipline, sacrifice and unselfishness.

“It sounds kind of hokey, but my father really believes that his approach to basketball is also a training ground for life,” said Danley’s oldest son, Steve. “He doesn’t say that, but the message is pretty clear.”

Steve Danley played for his father from 1976-78 and has been an official for the past 7 years. He recalled entering the Katella program and expecting a complicated system.

“I can remember all kids attending his camps and doing all the routine fundamental things every year,” he said. “We finally got to high school and figured we were going to learn some sophisticated basketball.

“We got to Katella and did the same simple things. My father says, ‘The little things make the big things happen.’ He wants you to be the best you can be, and won’t settle for anything less.”

Danley, the motivator, has the reputation of being a master psychologist. Some swear he can read a player’s mind. Many have learned that no player is too big for the wrath of Danley.

“He liked to make an example out of me, because I goofed around a lot in practice,” said Aberegg. “When it was game time, I was always ready to play. When it wasn’t for real, I didn’t take it seriously.

“The game always seemed to come easy to me, but Coach Danley was on me, demanding the best from me. He was tough, and I didn’t like all his discipline, but we always felt we were better than the other team.”

Steve Danley and his younger brother, Dan, played for their father. Both said although it was sometimes difficult and demanding under their father’s coaching methods, they feel fortunate having played at Katella.

“He’s a one-in-a-million coach,” Steve said. “And you know something. Even though he’s won all those games, he never once stressed that we had to win a game. All he asked is that we did our best.”