Stephanie Phillips, a beloved coach in the Ozarks, died on a summer Saturday night. My colleague, Michael Stacy, and I heard the end was near on a Friday afternoon and canceled our plans for the weekend to stay by our apartment complex. Because she was terminally ill, we had a lot of the legwork done already. When we received the news, we hunkered down in his apartment and made the tough phone calls. We were the source for information and rememberances, set up a tribute page for later in the week and solicited response from the community, which was well received. We shared a first-place award from the Missouri Associated Press Managing Editors for our work. Published July 12, 2010.
Joe Atkisson said the secret to the success of the Kickapoo High School girls' basketball team over the years was not great talent and certainly not luck.
It was its tough, fair and loving leader.
From observing and practicing against the Lady Chiefs as a member of the scout team, Atkisson saw firsthand the interaction Phillips had with her players.
"She handled each girl differently," said Atkisson, who graduated from Kickapoo in the spring. "We had players that were good, but the coach made the team. She was very driven and wanted to win, but she also was very caring."
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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