BRITTON – Britton-Hecla basketball has gone old-school.

Terry Nelson and Troy Knecht have returned to the sidelines after stepping away from coaching in the past. Nelson is currently the girls’ head coach for the Braves, while Knecht is the boys’ head coach.

Nelson is back on the sidelines after working for the county in recent years.

“I’m having fun now,” Nelson said. “I don’t have to get up in the morning and go plow roads or anything else.”

Nelson started out in Deubrook and then coached at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte for eight years and Chamberlain for five seasons before landing in Hecla where he just missed coaching Knecht by a year. Nelson coached the Hecla boys, the Frederick-Hecla boys and girls, and later the Britton-Hecla boys for six years.

He has coached in nine state tournaments and currently has 387 combined coaching victories.

Knecht served as an assistant under Nelson for four seasons before going on to be the head boys’ coach at Leola-Frederick, where he guided the Titans to a pair of state tournaments.

In short, both men understand the game and also have an appreciation for each other.

“From Terry Nelson, coaching with him for those four years, I learned motivation, the importance of loose balls and the importance of rebounding,” Knecht said, “and just working hard and understanding the game.”

While the game has evolved through the years, Nelson’s style has not.

“I haven’t changed anything. I’m still at it. I’m going to do the press. I’m going to run my offense and everything else,” Nelson said. “I said these are all quick hitters. I said everything is real easy. I’m not going to make it difficult.”

Knecht, who returned to the sidelines last season, has noticed that today’s game is different from his playing days.

“The game was played fast and the defense was lax,” Knecht said. “We felt like we were playing defense, but it’s nothing like the level that defense is stressed now.”

He also noted that the mid-range game has gone away.

“We don’t discount those mid-range shots. I’m trying to bring some of the old back,” Knecht said, “but also have adapted to the way they play it now.”

Knecht said that he has mellowed a bit with age and that has impacted his coaching style, but the end goal remains the same.

“I do coach differently than I did then,” Knecht said, “but ultimately it comes down to can you put the kids in the best position to win and can you motivate them?”

Motivation has never been a problem for Nelson. His has a big booming voice that reverberates in any gym, regardless of the size.

“Nelson can just beller it out. I cannot do that,” Knecht said. “My voice will be gone after a game and he’s just getting warmed up.”

Nelson said the strength of his voice can sometimes be misunderstood as he gives instructions to his players.

“Everybody thinks I’m hollering at them,” Nelson said. “Tell them what they have to do and tell them where to be. And they know it. They said, ‘You know what Nelson, you’re not chewing us out,’ and I said I know I’m not. They said that helps us.”

Through the years Nelson’s style has helped to shape and mold past standout players like Missy Bruns, Michelle Bruns, Shannon Daly and Brittney Klipfel to name a few.

He has coached everything from football to wrestling to track and field, and was even a cheerleader advisor at one point.

“They tried to get me to coach gymnastics in Chamberlain,” Nelson said. “They seen it on my degree and I said no.”

However, that hasn’t prevented him from offering a little advice to some of the gymnasts at Britton-Hecla when he gets a chance.

“When we’re doing the horse over here in Britton, it’s a straight on shot and I’m telling the girls your legs are going here and there,” Nelson said.

While Knecht still uses some of the tactics he learned while coaching under Nelson, it was something else that resonates even more to this day.

It occurred on opening night in 1995 in what would turn out to be a banner season for Hecla that culminated in a state tournament appearance. The contest took place in Waubay and Knecht recalled the conversation that took place between him and Nelson afterward.

“We lost that game in a close game and we get into the bus and I said, ‘It’s over. Don’t even consider going to the state tournament.’ I said ‘We are terrible,'” Knecht said. “He’s like, ‘Brother, you gotta settle down. Every game is a practice game until you get to districts. You have to just relax.'”

It was a lesson that both men are probably still implementing as they continue to guide the current generation of players.

Nelson, who will turn 66 in February, is happy to be back in the game.

His wife Cindy originally questioned whether he really wanted to go back to coaching, but has seen that familiar look return to her husband’s face.

“You’re enjoying this aren’t you?” Nelson said his wife asked him recently. “I said, ‘You bet I am.’ I checked my blood pressure and everything else. I’m doing good.”

Knecht, who farms and has a seed business, said he never ruled out the idea of returning to the sidelines, but admits it’s hard to fathom that he and Nelson are both back at it again.

“Who would have ever thought,” Knecht said. “Me coaching wasn’t such an unlikely thing, but for him to come back at the same time, it really is crazy.”