Ken Turner and sports go hand-in-hand. He has surrounded himself with athletics his entire life. From being a lifelong fan, to being an athlete himself, to coaching at the youth levels through college, sports has greatly impacted his life.
The strongest bonds that sports have impacted for Turner are the relationships that he has with his father, and with his two children, Kenya and Isaiah.
“I can’t imagine my life without sports,” Turner said. “It brought me and my dad really close together when I was a kid. Me and my dad are like best friends, still to this day. It all started around sports, and he’s the one who encouraged me to start coaching.”
Turner played sports at Horace Mann Middle High School, and he decided to focus on basketball at Cleveland High School. He went on to play at Glendale College, and shortly afterwards he launched a coaching career because his father thought that it would be a good career path for him.
Turner started his coaching career at Horace Mann, and then was hired as an assistant boy’s basketball coach at Dorsey High School. He wanted to be a head coach and there was an opening with the girl’s basketball team. Even though he had never given a thought claiming the L.A. City Section 3A title in 1996.
He moved on to become the head coach at West L.A. College, where he was named coach of the year. That led to a job as an assistant head coaching position at the Cal State University Northridge, where he also served as co-head coach for most of one season.
After gaining college-level experience, Turner was brought onto the staff of the L.A. Sparkers by Lakers great Michael Cooper, who was coaching the team at the time.
Following his stint with the Sparks, Turner became an assistant coach at Cal State University Los Angeles, where he was a grad student at the time. He went on to become a teacher at Hamilton High School, and was recently named the school’s athletic director.
Through the various levels of playing and coaching sports, Turner learned a number of life lessons.
“I learned how to win with class, and how to lose with dignity,” he said. “I learned early on that sportsmanship was the key. You’re going to lose sometimes. I learned teamwork. I learned how to trust. I learned that hard work in and of itself is the reward, but it also gets you a reward in terms of victory. I learned how to do things the right way, and that if you don’t do things the right way, it can end up leading to your demise. You can lose when you circumvent details. So, I learned how to be precise.”
He also learned discipline; that everything wasn’t going to go his way, and how to be patient. All of these lessons have helped him on and off the court, and he is passing them on.
“Those are valuable life lessons that I teach my kids now,” Turner said.
Kenya is a senior volleyball player at Hamilton, where she is a team captain, and her younger brother, Isaiah, has excelled at soccer, basketball, flag football, gymnastics, and swimming. Just like sports influenced Turner’s relationship with his father, it has done the same for he and his children.
“I think that sports has brought us together in a number of ways,” Turner said. “We’re very involved parents with whatever team they’re playing on, no matter the sport. I was actually my daughter’s first volleyball coach, and I’m not a volleyball coach. It gives us something to do together. It gives me an opportunity to cheer for them.”
Many of the lessons that the elder Turner learned through sports has helped Kenya throughout high school. She is graduating with a 3.7 grade point average, and the lessons that she learned from her father through sports, are helping her excel academically.
“He was my first coach, and he taught me a lot of basic stuff,” Kenya said. “He taught me discipline, how to follow directions, and how to be a part of a team.”
Those attributes also helped her off the court.
“Collaborating with classmates, following directions, and making strong relationships with classmates,” Kenya said. “I have my teammates, and I also have some really good relationships with my friends. I think because the same skills I use in sports, help me build strong relationships.”
Isaiah also appreciates having his father guide him through athletics.
“Every time I play, my dad is there to cheer me on, which makes me more confident,” Isaiah said. “It also has made me think of other sports to play, because we’re always talking about sports.”
Isaiah and his dad have become competitive playing basketball together, with the younger Turner showing his confidence by saying that he can beat his father.
“He’s too old to play anymore,” Isaiah laughed.
Turner has healthy relationships with his father and his two children, and sports has played a role in strengthening those bonds.
