BOUNTIFUL — As the seconds counted down in Farmington’s 68-47 win against Viewmont, the Phoenix bench and fans were louder than usual for a regular-season game in January.
They knew they were about to witness history.
As the clock hit zero, the Farmington team swarmed head coach Van Price, who had just earned his 501st victory with the win — the most in girls’ basketball state history. As the clock ticked down, all of the players, students and fans changed into white and teal T-shirts which had a big 501 on the front. His players dumped water on his head in celebration.
“I’m very emotional because I didn’t expect this at all. The fans to wear shirts and to get 501 is awesome. Everyone has reminded me about that and I didn’t want to make a big deal about it, but it sure is an honor,” Price said.
Though he was aware of the upcoming milestone, Price’s full attention was on the game at hand.
“It wasn’t supposed to be about me at all. It was supposed to be about the girls. This was two teams that were 3-0 (in region play) and it put us in first place in the region. That’s what matters to me the most,” Price said.
Price humbly deflected any praise about becoming the winningest coach in state history, saying he only reached the most wins because of longevity.
“It’s just because of time. The late Rand Rasmussen from Bingham, he passed away this summer. He could have got it. He was an awesome coach. (Curtis) Barney retired this year, he could have got it. There’s a lot of coaches that could get it,” Price said.
Price got his start in coaching after being a manager at BYU. He was around Cougar basketball head coaches Frank Arnold and LaDell Andersen and learned from them. When he got his head coaching start in Layton — the school where he collected 474 of his wins for 31 years — in 1987, he had to adapt his plays and coaching style for the girls high school level, drawing up new plays and exploiting mismatches.
The legendary coaches he passed on the road to 501: Ogden’s Philip Russell (500 wins), Panguitch’s Curtis Barney (485 wins) and Bingham’s Rand Rasmussen (465 wins) were all measuring sticks when he played against their teams in his early coaching years. Russell’s 1-3-1 defense and Rasmussen’s pressure man-to-man defense were both challenges that he had to adapt to.
“(Russell) was one of the first teams I played when I started my career. I had a hard time beating him. He was a very good coach. That’s kind of where I made my mark, when I got to a point where I could beat some of those coaches once in a while,” Price said. “They bettered my career to have those coaches around.”
Russell emailed Price to congratulate him on joining the 500 club.
“It was really nice of him to say something. We’re both in the 500 club. To have one game more than him, it doesn’t make that much of a difference to me. We’re two coaches that have 500 wins and there will be more,” Price said.
The best part of coaching for Price is spending time with his team.
“Being here in practice with these girls every day. They’re so appreciative and they think of others and not themselves,” Price said.