Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coach of the Year Thomas Phillips, black shirt, was recognized by the Phoenix Suns during Game 2 of their first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers. (Barry Gossage/NBAE Photos)

Southwest Valley YMCA Jr. Mercury coach Thomas Phillips didn’t even know the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA awarded a Coach of the Year.

After all, an award spotlighting an individual performance is something the team-oriented coach tends not to devote much attention to.

But after hearing the Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA league named Phillips as its Coach of the Year, the four-year coach unpretentiously accepted the acknowledgement.

“I think this is a great honor,” Phillips said. “The way we play and practice I guess is showing.”

Coach Phillips’ style has been evident longer than his award-winning year however, as his team, which is currently undefeated with a 6-0 record, has only lost two games in the past three years, both in championship games.

“We’ve put in a ton of hard work and have had lots of days of practice,” Phillips said. “But basketball aside, I more or less wanted to teach the girls life skills.”

He said he stressed concepts such as teamwork, respect, competitiveness, and being humble to the girls so they could grow their games around those principles.

“All of the girls have to get along and they all have to talk to each other,” Phillips said. “The girls are also not allowed to argue with refs or with people in the stands.”

He said these concepts are what his father taught him and they are needed for success in any aspect of life.

Coach Phillips was one of only 31 coaches awarded out of the nearly 75,000 who coach Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA teams throughout the United States, Canada and abroad.

The frosting on Phillips’ cake came April 26 when he was honored during Game 2 of the First Round of the NBA Playoffs between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers.

“Just going to a playoff game against the Lakers was a great experience,” Phillips said. “But being honored by the Suns and taking a tour of the their locker room was cool. It was pretty surreal.”

Coach Phillips commented on his success and pointed out he has coached the same group of girls for four years now.

He said despite most of the girls on the team only being 12 years old, they compete against girls who are 14 and 15.

“I think it’s more worthwhile playing against older players,” Phillips said. “Our biggest accomplishment this season was competing in the BCI tournament against girls going in to 10th grade.”

Coach Phillips feels satisfied with his team’s effort this season, but says he has big plans for the future.

“We’re really looking to ramp it up a little next year,” Phillips said. “We want to be affiliated with the YMCA, but we want to play as good as a club team.”

He said his goals for next year will be tough since his team doesn’t have the money most club teams have, but the optimistic coach thinks they’re attainable if the team can find ways to earn money from fundraising activities and sponsors.

For more information about the Jr. Suns/Jr. Mercury Youth Basketball League