Some of the most knowledgeable and successful high school and college basketball coaches in the state will be conducting players and coaches clinics starting Saturday, October 14, at the Newtown Middle School.

The clinics are sponsored by the Newtown Youth Basketball Association and will be free and open to all boys and girls, grades 5-8, who participate on in-town or travel teams. Each player must bring his or her own ball, with his or her name clearly marked on the ball in bold letters.

Conducting the players’ clinics will be Newtown High School coaches John Quinn (boys) and Gregg Simon (girls), Western Connecticut State University men’s coach Bob Campbell, Fairfield University women’s coach Dianne Nolan, Rutgers University men’s coach Chris Casey, and Sacred Heart University women’s coach Ed Swanson.

The coaches:

BOB CAMPBELL – Will begin his 18th year as coach of the WSCU program. He is the winningest coach in the 50-year history of the team, with a record of 321-113. His winning percentage is second among NCAA Division II coaches. The Colonials had won 20 or more games in seven consecutive seasons and eight times overall since Campbell took over in 1984 (in 1995-96, the Colonials were 19-8). In 1993-94, the Colonials were 23-6 and captured the first-ever ECAC New England Championship. In 1989-90, the school finished 28-2 and was ranked as high as No. 2 nationally on Division III polls.

CHRIS CASEY – A 1986 graduate of Western Connecticut, he is already the dean of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference assistant coaches. Right after graduation, he stepped into an assistant role at Central Connecticut State University and after two years there he spent one year at WCSU and another at St. Francis. Then he moved on to St. Peter’s College, where he was an eight-year assistant, having seen the Peacocks earn their first NCAA Division I tournament bid in 1990. Currently, coach Casey is in his third year at Rutgers.

DIANNE NOLAN – Since her arrival at Fairfield University in 1979, and moving women’s basketball to the Division I level in 1981, coach Nolan has developed one of the most flourishing programs in the national. She is the 44th winningest active women’s basketball coach in the country. Fairfield has enjoyed 14 winning records in the past 17 years, with three Metro Atlantic Conference championships, three appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and four 20-win seasons. Coach Nolan has won on New England Coach of the Year Award, four MAAC Coach of the Year awards, and is closing in on 325 wins at Fairfield. She was also cited as one of the Outstanding Women in Connecticut for her contribution to women’s athletics.

JOHN QUINN – He is entering his third season as head coach of the Newtown boys’ basketball team, with a record of 11-11 in the 1999-2000 season. His team has qualified for the state tournament the last two years. A player and a graduate of Iona College, coach Quinn was an assistant under legendary coach John Valvano for four years.

GREGG SIMON – Beginning his ninth year as coach of the Newtown girls’ basketball team, coach Simon guided the Nighthawks to a 21-4 record last year and their first-ever South-West Conference championship. The ‘Hawks are the only team in the SWC to reach the tournament semi-finals every year since the league was formed. Coach Simon boasts a 125-59 career record and was named The News-Times Coach of the Year. His 1999-2000 squad also won the Harold Swaffield Sportsmanship Award, presented by the IAABO referee board #9.

ED SWANSON – The 2000-2001 season will mark coach Swanson’s 11th as head coach at Sacred Heart. He helped guide the Pioneers to a 15-12 record last year. The top three winningest seasons in Pioneer history have all come during his tenure. He passed the 100-win total last season and currently is the winningest coach in school history. Last season’s 15-12 record pushing his winning percentage above the .500 level (126-119, .510). In 1996, coach Swanson was named the NECC and Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Region 1 Coach of the Year.