Britton Deerfield's Darren Shiels earns Lenawee County Boys Basketball Coach of the Year
BRITTON — The Britton Deerfield boys basketball team didn’t win the most games in program history by simply walking onto the basketball floor this season.
It was built in places like Siena Heights University, where Darren Shiels would take a group of elementary-aged boys to play in a tournament. Or, on Saturday mornings in Gaylord when the now juniors and seniors would play against students from other schools’ fifth- and sixth-grade teams from up north.
It was a process.
“I’ve coached most of these kids since they were elementary kids,” Shiels said. “They were in Logan’s class, so I coached them. I coached them pretty much all the way through. We played in Indianapolis, the Big North tournaments. All over.”
When Shiels was coaching the varsity teams, in the winter, parents Kevin Bush and Jason Plum would take the kids to Toledo to play in a league.
“We would practice after varsity practice when they were younger,” he said. “This year’s seniors were part of the youth program I started. They are the first ones to go all the way from kindergarten through.”
The fruits of all of that labor has paid off.
The Patriots enjoyed the greatest season in school history, winning 18 games and a district championship – the first in program history. It was the first district won by Britton or Deerfield since 1995 when Shiels – a high school senior at the time – beat Madison with a shot at the buzzer at Adrian College.
Along the way, the Patriots beat 20-win Lenawee Christian, 19-win Summerfield, 17-win Concord and 17-win Whiteford. They battled with 21-win Dundee and went up against 23-win Allen Park Inter-City Baptist in the regional semifinals.
Shiels, named the Lenawee County Boys Basketball Coach of the Year, enjoyed the ride. He said the team had an unusual bond, probably because of all of those games and trips they took as youngsters.
“They’ve played together so long,” Shiels said. “It’s not unusual to hear them tell each other they love each other after practices. It’s a close team.”
BD started the season 9-0 and won the Clinton Christmas tournament by beating Bronson and Clinton. Lenawee Christian handed the Patriots their first loss in early January, but it was a close game until the fourth quarter.
The season was not without struggles. A mid-season slump saw them lose four out of seven games, including a 50-point loss to Lenawee Christian. The team rebounded, however, winning five straight games before losing to Dundee in the final game of the regular season, then captured the district title with a win against Lenawee Christian, which entered the state tournament ranked No. 2 in Division 4.
After the game, dozens of parents, students and community members met in the Britton gym, where the team cut down the nets in celebration.
Shiels credits his assistants this season, including Bush, Mason Mueller, Brenton Shiels and JV coach Austin Hyatt with helping mold the team. Basketball has long been a family gathering for the Shiels family. Darren’s wife, Kelly, keeps the scorebook, and their sons, Cole and Logan, both played at BD.
Logan was a senior on this year’s team. He came back from knee surgery in April to lead the team in scoring, earn first team all-league and county honors and become BD’s all-time leading scorer.
Logan said his dad is constantly watching film at home and is not afraid to make changes as a coach.
“He is a coach who is quick on his feet and not afraid to take a risk on a play, or a defense, if he thinks it can make a difference in the game,” the younger Shiels said. “I think one of the things that makes him such a good coach though is how free he lets us play. He doesn’t overwhelm us with rules on the offensive end. He lets us be us, and the confidence that he gives us is the reason we won.”
This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Britton Deerfield's Darren Shiels named boys basketball coach of the year
