LeBron James' High School Basketball Coach Talks Fatherhood

Dru Joyce II received one of the greatest Father’s Day gifts last year. He watched his former player and Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James lift the NBA’s Larry O’Brien trophy — ending Cleveland’s 52-year pro sports championship drought. Joyce relives that experience, among other teachable dad moments, in Father’s Day Miracle ($12.99, One Heart Communications). The book is a collaboration between Joyce II, a father of four and James’ St. Vincent-St. Mary High School basketball coach, and other sports dads, including former NBA player Dave Jamerson and Steve Doerschuk, the Cleveland Browns beat writer for The Canton Repository. The collection of touching real life stories uses sports — and all of its ups and downs — to help dads get through the tough parts of fatherhood. Ahead of Father’s Day this year, Joyce II gives us his takes on fatherhood, coaching and more. 

On contributing to the book: [Jamerson and Doerschuk] really wanted to do something about fatherhood, and that just sat well with me because I understand the significance of being a father. The other thing was me being a basketball coach and having coached so many kids from single-parent families who weren’t used to having a male authority figure and how that spilled over into their lives. This has just kind of become my purpose — how I use basketball to be involved with young men and help them grow into men. 

On how to be a role model: I am a firm believer that more is caught than taught — that more people learn from what they see you do than what they hear you say. We just have some standards that we try to live by in the basketball program at St. Vincent-St. Mary. The biggest thing that impacts the young men [is] my demeanor: how I interact with referees, how I take winning, how I take losing — all of those are life lessons that all of these men are exposed to and they get to see.

On the relationship with his father: My relationship with my father wasn’t a very good relationship. At least at one point in my life, I didn’t think it was. It took me a while to come to terms with exactly who my father was and the fact that he was always there for me. I needed to be able to honor that and appreciate that. 

On coaching his oldest son: My whole coaching career with my first son is a lesson to dads coaching their sons everywhere. I was very hard on him. I wanted to make sure all of the other parents believed that my son was playing because he deserved to play. Dads need to understand that you need to coach your son like you coach every other player. You need to be honest with him, and coach like you coach everyone else.