Longtime Downey High School coach to be inducted into Hall of Fame

Retired Downey High School basketball coach Larry Shelton will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday. (Photo by Alex Dominguez).

DOWNEY - An over 40-year career with the Downey Vikings will culminate with a Hall of Fame induction later this month.

When Larry Shelton, 60, was asked if he thought his 41-year tenure coaching basketball at Downey High School was worthy of such an honor, he said that “I’ll let other people be the judge of that.”

“I put in a lot of time and effort; we have 551 victories I think it is,” said Shelton. “I did not win the CIF Championship, which some people would say, ‘How could you be a hall of fame coach if you didn’t win the CIF championship?’

“We spent the most of my time at Downey High School in Division 1, and we would have had to beat the Mater Dei’s and the Sierra Canyons and those people to win a CIF title; that’s pretty hard to do in a public school. So, you know, I’m proud of what we did. This is a great honor, and I accept the honor, but do I think I’m deserving? I’m just thrilled that they’ve given me this opportunity.”

Regardless of not securing a CIF championship, there are plenty “on-court highlights” throughout Shelton’s career. Notably, he led Downey to clinch the Gateway League Championship in its first-year (and his last) last year. Over his time, Shelton also brought home four San Gabriel League championships, and sports an overall 551-399 win-loss record.

On his success, Shelton says that Downey athletes are “tough.”

“I think that was kind of the trademark of, when people would play Downey in basketball, they knew they were in for a battle because Downey kids are tough.”

He added that he and his coaches “emphasized the total program,” describing the lower level teams as “a farm system” and expressing pride that he strayed away from recruitment outside of the community.

“I had a great group of coaches who coached for me; the freshman level, JV level, they would teach most of the same things that we would teach at the varsity level, and we just out a lot of hard work into the program.

“You see today so many basketball programs that don’t care about their lower levels; all they do is recruit kids for the varsity and they don’t pay attention to the lower levels. I think it’s an injustice to the kids at the school, and I always believed in having a program from the bottom up that was good at every level, and I’m very proud of what we’ve done in Downey because of that.”

The true highlight for Shelton, however, is not what happened “on the court.”

“I coached to help kids. I coached to take kids and help them become better human beings, better men,” said Shelton. “The highlight for me, when I see players that have pushed for me in the past, that they end up coming back and they’re attorneys, or they’re successful business people, or they’re teachers.

“I have had so many of those throughout the years, that to me is my career highlight.”

A 1981 graduate of Downey, Shelton says that “Downey High School has pretty much been my life.”

During his time as a student, he played four years within the school’s basketball program. However, standing at 5 feet 9 inches, and admittedly “slow and not a good athlete,” Shelton knew that his playing days had a ceiling.

“I was not a very good player, but I knew early on that I loved sports,” said Shelton. “The only way I would be able to play in sports, or to stay in sports, I was not going to be able to play college basketball or any sport for that matter, so coaching was a way I could stay involved in sports.”

Luckily for Shelton, his coach took notice and took him under his wing. Come graduation, there was more than a diploma waiting for him.

“As soon as I graduated, I was approached by the varsity basketball coach at the time who asked me if I wanted to be the coach of the sophomore basketball team, and that’s where it all started,” said Shelton. “I was 18 coaching kids that were 15.”

While he coached, he also sought his degree and teaching credential at Cal State Long Beach, which he called “The ultimate commuter school.”

“I would sit in the back of class, and whenever I knew it was safe to get out and get back to the school and start helping out again, I would do that,” said Shelton.

Much to his surprise, he took over varsity after Jack Single, the coach at the time, moved on to coach the Women's team at Saddleback Junior College just six years later. He was 24 years old.

“I was shocked. You don’t see those things happen these days,” said Shelton.

Shelton admits to initially having higher aspirations for his career.

“I had big dreams in those days, I was convinced I was going to be the next coach at UCLA, or the Lakers; those were the places I was going to be coaching at some day,” said Shelton. “When we’re young, we don’t really understand the odds of things like that.

“As I continued to coach at Downey, I just fell in love with coaching high school kids, and the way I was treated at Downey High I never left.”

He retired last year, bringing his coaching career (and 35-years as a math teacher) to a close.

On Feb. 23, Shelton will be inducted into the Southern California Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Shelton has seen many coaches inducted over the years, many of whom he idolized, but “never dreamed that one day I’d be out there, and they’d be calling my name.”

“This is basically the Hall of Fame for Southern California High School Basketball Coaches, and I am honored and humbled to have been chosen to be inducted,” said Shelton.

Shelton thanked “all the wonderful players I’ve had,” along with his coaches, Downey’s Athletic Director Mark Rand (also a former student of his), and principal Tom Houts.

“It’s been a wonderful ride,” said Shelton. “I miss coaching; I do miss it. But it’s given me so much in my life and I’ve been truly blessed.”