Two Titles 50 Years in the Making
Three generations of Meneese family connections to Mike Bethea at Rainier Beach
Sometimes when Rainier Beach Vikings coach Mike Bethea peers out on a basketball court, he can’t help but feel that he is looking at a mirror into his past. The two teenaged brothers out there today are in their second year with him. Twenty years ago, he coached their father. Fifty years ago, and for decades after, he played with their grandfather.
Thing is, you can draw a through line from Jerry Meneese in 1975 to Tremaine Meneese in 2006 to Marques, a senior, and Micah, a junior, today. You might say their style of play – call them the clean-up crew – is the Meneese family business. They all rebound, they all hustle, they all know their roles, they’ve all been relatively unsung, and Bethea, in one way or another, has been a beneficiary.
“You coach all the kids the same, but it’s just something different about a kid that you have a relationship with their parents and grandparents,” Bethea said wistfully after a recent practice. “It’s just like playing with those guys. Like playing with Jerry again or coaching Tremaine again.”
Read the Full Story at the South Seattle Emerald
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The Shoes of Ili-Meneese Make a Difference
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Three Generations of Family Connection
Love this so much.
(Even though I went to Nathan Hale and live in the dreaded California now, I'm glad you're filling the Seattle basketball-sized hole in my heart)