Clutch Coffey leads Batavia to Cinderella season
You think the Coffey family plays hard on the football fields, basketball courts and baseball diamonds?
You should see the Ping-Pong games.
Canaan Coffey, the youngest of four brothers who have been a fixture at Batavia the past decade, broke down each of his brother's skills with a paddle like he was scouting Geneva's box-and-one or triangle-and-two.
"We all have our own styles," Canaan said. "I give a slight edge to Jesse. Jordan stands in one spot, he's just so big and long he doesn't have to move, drives me crazy. Micah is so fundamental. They are all so hard to play against."
One thing is for sure - nobody wants to lose.
"There have been a few broken paddles downstairs," Canaan laughed. "Micah just got us a couple replacement paddles because things get out of hand when he's playing."
Canaan's basketball coach Jim Nazos has another story to illustrate that competitive Coffey spirit. It came two years ago when Canaan was a sophomore and Micah was a senior and the Bulldogs were practicing boxouts.
"Ended up in a fight," Nazos said. "Fists thrown. We just stood there and watched it. They went off the court different ways and we just kind of laughed.
"You know what? They are two of the most competitive players I've ever coached. They went home and had dinner together and there is no hard feelings. It's brotherly love."
Canaan remembered that boxout drill.
"After the third time he kind of got me in the chest and that's when things turned into more of a battle than a basketball practice," Canaan recalled. "Those things are fun to look back on. Helped me because it made me tougher physically and mentally."
Coffey was plenty tough mentally and physically this fall catching a school-record 83 passes and 11 touchdowns on Batavia's 10-2 football team, and the winning ways continued this winter for the school's Upstate Eight Conference River Division champion basketball team.
Coffey averaged a team-high 16.7 points while hitting one clutch shot after another. He's this year's honorary co-captain of the Daily Herald Fox Valley All-Area Boys Basketball Team. He shares the award with Burlington Central senior Ryan Fitzgerald.
"Anyone who has not face-guarded the kid does not have an understanding of what he does until it's too late," said Phil Ralson, whose Geneva team saw Coffey hit one of those late-game, NBA-range 3s in Batavia's 48-43 win on Dec. 18.
"In a tight, one-possession game, if he has the ball, he has the capability of hitting unbelievable shots. We try not to let Coffey beat us but he did at their place despite all that. He's just that blessed of a player. Not many coaches in the area are going to miss him other than Jim Nazos.
"He's been a big part of the rebuilding Jim has been doing over there. I'm very happy for Batavia and happy for Canaan that he's going out this way."
It was a conference championship few saw coming - Batavia was coming off a 15-15 season and had not won the title since 2008. The Bulldogs also won 20 games this year for the first time since 2008.
"Nobody thought we could win the conference, they kind of had us middle of the pack," Coffey said. "We just used that as motivation. We kept working harder and harder at practice each day. We started surprising some people. In the summer we knew how good we could be. We reached that potential and kind of exceeded it even. Every single guy stepped up this year whether it be helping us with scouting in practice or making big shots in the game. Everybody on the team is every bit deserving of the conference championship."
Those are the type of leadership skills that make Coffey such a hit with his teammates and coaches.
"Best teammate I've ever played with," senior Michael Fee said. "Always encouraging. Always positive. Always next play, never looks down. Great kid. He puts in a lot of work. Always first in the gym, last to leave. He deserves everything he gets."
There haven't been many families come through a school with a run of success like the Coffeys. It started in 2006 when Jordan threw 2 touchdowns in the Class 6A state championship football game.
Canaan was a third-grader in the Memorial Stadium stands for that game, but before he could get to high school and follow in his big brother's footsteps there was Jesse Coffey - an All-Area basketball player - and Micah, a three-sport standout who quarterbacked Batavia to the 2013 state title.
Those were some big shoes to follow, yet Canaan was thankful never to feel pressure to match their success.
"Growing up with my three older brothers and the unbelievable careers they had, it's definitely tough," Canaan said. "I just used it as motivation to be as good as they were. My parents (Brian and Lorene) always stressed to me you don't have to be any one of them. You just be Canaan Coffey and you be you. That took a lot of the stress off. Even to this day they still mention it to me and it calms me down."
Canaan said he gets texts from each of his brothers before and after his games. They all have made an impact on Coffey's game.
"Jordan, he's been the biggest supporter I've had throughout my high school career," Canaan said. "He keeps me accountable, keeps me getting after it. Jesse played college ball. That helps a lot because he has a lot of experience in the game. Micah, it was really fun getting after it in practice. He pushed me to be the best player I could be. All of them have helped tremendously."
Coffey's success continues to the classroom.
"He's an A student," Nazos said. "I've had him in class. How he is on the floor is how he is in the classroom. He's that way in school, he's that way with his friends, it's just who he is. And I think every person in the school knows it.
"If we have a practice that is on the weekend that isn't after school, if practice it at 3, you can set your clock Canaan will be there at 2," Nazos continued. "It's not a show, it's real, he wants to be the best player he can be. He wants his team to have the best season they can have. He's made himself into the player he is. As a sophomore people would say don't let him shoot, make him put the ball down. Well he got how many baskets at the rim? He got to the free-throw line. He made himself a complete player. He got himself stronger physically and he has a free education coming."
That's at Indiana Wesleyan where Coffey will play college basketball next year.
It's hard to believe he - or any Coffey - won't be suiting up in Batavia's Crimson and Gold.
"It's crazy how fast it's gone by," Canaan said. "I wouldn't change it for anything. It's been a blast."