Who's Your Daddy? Helix Senior Forward Can Point Down the Bench

John Singer, basketball coach at Helix Charter High School, took on an additional role during a game against Sweetwater during the holidays.

He became Singer the father.

The situation?

An opposing fan was heckling a Helix player who happened to be starting senior forward Johnny Singer, the coach’s son.

Coach Singer, known for his demonstrative actions on the sideline to begin with, wasn’t going to let the fan get away with it.

“I went off on the guy,” Singer said with a chuckle, recalling the Dec. 27 Spartan Holiday Classic game at Chula Vista High School. “I can yell at my son. You can’t.”

The unruly older fan was lectured by tournament officials and referees, who also were subject of the spectator’s scorn.

For the Singers, it simply served as a reminder of what can transpire when a father coaches his son at the high school level.

John Singer said he would have chastised the fan even if another Helix player had been the subject of ridicule. But this one got personal.

“I was probably more [upset] because he is my son,” Singer said. “He’s your blood.”

Being the son of the coach certainly has its trying times. Johnny Singer realizes he has to hold himself to a higher standard because people are watching at all times.

He doesn’t want parents to criticize his father for playing favorites with a son; yet he also knows that he has to prove himself to teammates as well. So father will often use son as an example during practices.

“He’s not afraid to put me on the spot,” said the younger Singer. “He’ll hold me to a higher standard. He can’t have me slacking off. If I do, he’s going to hear complaints from parents or kids at school.”

Coaching a son is not unique. Al Schaffer did it at Ramona. Ditto for such East County coaches as Frank Foggiano at Grossmont, Ross Furrow at El Capitan and Zach Peck at Monte Vista.

Peck, a longtime friend of Singer’s, actually coached two sons at Monte Vista and discussed the ins and outs of doing so with Singer before the latter’s son came to Helix.

Peck mentioned that the biggest advantage isn’t so much what happens on the basketball court; rather it’s getting to take your kids to and from school and getting to see them on campus each day. The downfall, as Johnny Singer mentioned, concerns what others are thinking.

“I think John is fine for Johnny,” said Peck, now the athletic director at Monte Vista. “In the end, even more than basketball skills or technique, parents appreciate fairness. John is extremely fair and a helluva coach.”

As a coach, John Singer can take some getting used to by his players. His sideline demeanor includes plenty of yelling at his players and officials—and even opposing fans who get out of line verbally.

“Playing for him is an adventure,” Johnny Singer said. “Ask anyone; he can go off on you for doing wrong. We all understand that he does it with a purpose and is acting in our best interests. It can be hard to get used to him.”

When Johnny Singer was in eighth grade four seasons ago, he watched most of his dad’s games as Helix won the Division I San Diego Section CIF championship with one of the best Highlanders’ teams since the days of future NBA Hall of Famer Bill Walton some 40 years ago. (Walton was one grade ahead of John Singer at Helix and they played together for the school.)

During Johnny Singer’s freshman year at Helix, the Highlanders still finished a respectable 19-8. But when he was a sophomore, two varsity players became ineligible and another was injured. Coach Singer brought up two players from the junior varsity including his son, who has been on the varsity since.

“Johnny wasn’t ready then; he was forced to play,” coach Singer said. “I was probably too hard on him. I felt that by trying to be fair to every kid, I was being too hard on my son.”

John Singer had previously experienced coaching his son—but under much different circumstances. He mentored his son’s recreation league team for 7-8-year-olds, but only because no one else stepped forward. It was more than half a lifetime ago for Johnny Singer, who only vaguely recalls the experience.

Once the younger Singer reached high school age, he had a choice of attending Granite Hills (where his mother lives within the school’s boundaries) or attending Helix. He said that both parents left the decision up to him and he chose Helix because it was a better fit academically and athletically.

“In the back of my mind, I wanted to be able to watch him play if he elected to go to Helix,” coach Singer said. “He and I felt it was the one time he could play for his father and I could coach my son.

“We both know the game will end for him. At some point, he has to use his brain [for a career].”

Johnny Singer carries a 4.35 GPA and scored a very-high 1780 on his SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test). He’s already taken several advanced placement courses at Helix and hopes to enroll at San Diego State University in the fall.

“My philosophy is that I’d rather have him be a good kid and student than a basketball player,” his father said. “He’s my son. He’s very intelligent. He’s a lot smarter than dad.”

Those “smarts” also carry over to the basketball court. With pride, John Singer notes that his son is among the unique players who are just as happy to watch someone else score as score points himself.

The younger Singer, a 6-foot-4 forward, is known for feeding the ball well to the post. “It’s almost to a fault,” his father said.

Even so, Johnny Singer can score when called upon. For instance, in a recent game at Santana, the Sultans were dead set against having Helix star player Kenny Keys beat them so they doubled-teamed Keys. Consequently, Johnny Singer stepped up to hit 7 of 9 field goal attempts and score a team-high 14 points in a 48-44 win for the Highlanders (11-5 after Tuesday's victory over MonteVista).

“He does a lot of things to enhance our team,” John Singer said. “He has all the intangibles. It’s about smarts and being competitive.”

And in Johnny Singer’s case, it’s also about pleasing dad.

“On the court, he’s all fired up,” Johnny Singer said. “You’d think he is the angriest guy. He pretty much leaves that all on the floor. You don’t see the super-angry coach away from the court unless you do something really bad.

“Because he is my dad, I put a lot of pressure on myself to do the best I can to impress him.”