The high school basketball season in Southwest Florida is in full swing. Evangelical Christian School's boys' team is towards the top of the local rankings. The Sentinels are 5-2 so far, in part thanks to their coaches.
Scott Guttery has coached ECS boys basketball for nearly a decade. During that time, players and coaches have come and gone. However, none have been more impactful than Don Irvine.
“I always have an opportunity for a guy like him," Guttery said.
Irvine is a hoops legend in Kentucky, where he was born and raised. He started coaching high school basketball in the Bluegrass State at just 20 years old. Don led multiple schools to numerous championships while setting countless records. He has even been inducted into three separate halls of fame throughout his home state.
“I’ve been blessed," Irvine said. "I’ve had good people. I’ve got good friends.”
Irvine has retired more times than he can remember. However, someone would always convince him to come back and help out their team.
Now, at 65 years old, Irvine retired and moved down to Fort Myers. Just like in the past, he couldn't get away from the hardwood. He still has an itch to coach.
“I’m not good at anything else — I can’t cook, and I can’t build anything," Irvine said. "So at least I have a couple people that think I can coach a little bit.”
One of those people is Scott Guttery.
When he decided to move to Southwest Florida, Irvine sent Guttery an email asking if he needed any help. Guttery has a couple of connections to the state of Kentucky, too. So, after a few phone calls, he quickly discovered the opportunity he had waiting in his email inbox.
“Turns out he’s a legend," Guttery said. "Once I did a little looking into it, I figured out we just struck gold.”
So, Guttery welcomed Irvine with open arms. Don is now a volunteer assistant coach for ECS, where he focuses mostly on the team's offense.
Irvine is imparting his nearly five decades' worth of experience onto the Sentinels, who are one of the best teams in all of Southwest Florida this season.
“He's a great coach, great person to be around," ECS sophomore point guard Jahquez Outten said. "He’s so smart. He’s really smart. He knows his game.”
Coaching these days is not as easy for Irvine. On the court, he is in his 46th season of coaching. Off of it, he's been quietly battling Parkinson's Disease for four years.
“I have some bad days, and I have some good days," Irvine said.
The bad days started four years ago after Irvine suffered a stroke. It was then that the doctors diagnosed him with Parkinson's disease.
The diagnosis was one of the reasons why Irvine had to step away from his head coaching responsibilities and look for an assistant gig. He says some days it's difficult to make it through a full practice. However, Irvine still shows up every day and gives ECS his all.
“I’m sure he has days he doesn’t want to get up that early and go through it with his Parkinson’s, but he’s a tough guy and pushes through it and never complains," Guttery said.
Irvine says he wants to coach for as long as his body will let him.
“I’ll do it as long as they let me go," Irvine said. “I’ve been really blessed to be at this facility with these guys. I love these boys.”