To understand what kind of guy Tim Tencleve is, just ask the longtime head basketball coach and athletic director for Subiaco Academy in Subiaco, Arkansas, for a few personal stats earned over forty-six years with the all-boys school.
For instance, how many wins he’s had in his illustrious career.
“Oh, I don’t know,” he says. “I mean, I’d say it’s probably seven hundred wins, in that area.”
Well, how many losses?
“If I’m guessing right, it’s somewhere in the three-hundred-something,” he says. “Maybe four hundred, I don’t know.”
OK, Coach, what about competitive highlights?
“I mean, we’ve gone to regionals and state a bunch,” he says. “Shoot, I don’t know, to be honest.”
The preceding might suggest that Coach isn’t paying attention, is tongue-tied, or is just having a difficult interview, but that is not true in the slightest. A gregarious and warm individual whose competitive fire burns as brightly now as it did nearly fifty years ago, he’s not playing coy. He remembers how sharp the loss in the state finals felt in 2015, as well as those Trojan teams that had promise and, for one reason or another, didn’t quite take it all the way due to untimely injuries or a bad break.
The thing is, Coach Tim Tencleve has always been more focused on things that transcend the scoreboard and are more lasting than any given basketball win, which is to say the role he has had in developing generations of Subiaco Academy student-athletes. That becomes immediately apparent by how talk of games invariably boils down to the boys who played them and, more importantly, where those boys are now.
This one’s a doctor, he’ll tell you, that one’s a lawyer, this other one is a great family man. He knows all these things because they tell him so to this day, in phone calls and emails and, for the ones who never strayed far from their alma mater, in personal conversation. Nearly all of them consider his influence to be among the most profound of their growing up, and in return, their four years in the program have made coaching a job worth doing for all these years.
“It’s the kids,” he said, describing what’s kept him on the bench so long. “It’s not about the game itself. I mean, obviously, I enjoy the game of basketball, and I still enjoy running practices. But, it’s the kids, and seeing them develop and grow.”
If Tim were remembered solely for his life in the gym, it would be enough, but the school recently found a way to extend his legacy well beyond when he decides to retire from coaching. At a school assembly in April, Subiaco Abbey’s Abbot Elijah Owens, OSB, and Subiaco Academy Headmaster Dr. David Wright stunned him into silence with the announcement of the Coach Tim Tencleve Honorary Endowed Scholarship for Tuition Assistance, seeded by a $100,000 donation from an anonymous donor.
“I obviously didn’t have any idea it was happening, and I’m kind of notorious for not showing up at all the assemblies, so they had to trick me to get me there,” he said with a chuckle. “I always have practice right after school, and so I don’t always show up at those things. I was getting ready for practice, and my wife, Susan, called, and she said she was going to go, which I thought was strange.
“She said, ‘Are you going?’ I said, ‘Well, I wasn’t planning on it.’ And she said, ‘Well, I’m going—you better go. I’ll just pick you up.’”
Though named for one of Arkansas’ best-known and longest-tenured high school basketball coaches, the award is to help any student afford the cost of a Subiaco education, athlete or not. That’s something to which Tim is particularly proud to have his name attached. Tim fully understands the sacrifice many families make to send their boys to Subiaco. In fact, part of his job description today is working for the development office, where he raises money to help fund scholarships.
“I’m not very good at fundraising. In fact, I’m pretty bad at it,” Tim says with another chuckle. “But what I do enjoy is just talking to people, and telling them what I’m doing, and at some point, I think they just say, ‘I’m tired of you bothering me,’ and they give a little bit.
“All kidding aside, I enjoy people, and the great thing about this job is that it makes it even easier to stay connected to my old players. I also get to meet people I didn’t know were alums here, the older guys. I’ve been fortunate to meet some incredibly wonderful people I would’ve never met otherwise.”
Tim grew up nearby in Morrison Bluff, where he and his eleven siblings worked on the family farm. Three of his older brothers attended Subiaco Academy but didn’t play sports; Tim, who played basketball and baseball, attended school in Scranton to make it to practices and still make it home in time for chores.
“If you went to Subiaco and played sports, you didn’t get out of practice till 5:30,” he said. “We milked dairy cows and stuff, so Mom and Dad, they didn’t say it out loud, but they couldn’t afford to give up their milk hands.”
After graduation, Tim attended Arkansas Tech, having already set his mind on being a coach years before.
“I thought about being a coach from the time I was a kid, to be honest,” he said. “When I was in college, I actually coached the Scranton Peewees, the fifth and sixth graders. My future wife and I would haul ’em to tournaments and stuff like that. I do remember saying to her once, ‘Would you rather me be a farmer or a coach?’ and she said, ‘Good God, coach.’ I think there’s been a few times though, she’s wondered if she made the right call.”
He arrived at Subiaco to do his practice teaching in 1979, then returned full-time in 1980, teaching history and serving as assistant basketball coach. Four years later, he moved into the head coach role, which he has held ever since.
Try as he might, he can’t put a number on the many kids who’ve played for him—including his own sons and at least two nephews who have followed his lead and now coach at opposing high schools. Andrew Tencleve coaches at Paris High School, and Ryan Koerdt coaches at Barton High School, and so far, they’ve found it tough sledding coaching against their uncle.
“Andrew and I are actually in the same conference now,” Tim says. “I don’t enjoy that much, but it is what it is.”
At age sixty-seven, Coach hasn’t slowed a step and doesn’t plan to, despite the fact that they generally name scholarships after people who have one foot in retirement. He jokes that the administration might be giving him a hint, but lacking that, he plans on being on the court ready to take the next batch of boys and molding them into a skilled team and men of strong solid character—not necessarily in that order.
“The first thing that pops out at you is the philosophy and the beliefs that exist here,” he says. “You don’t have the crazy outside influences here that are prevalent elsewhere. The incredible people who run this place, you know, the only thing they ever want is for you to represent those values. You know, it’s not about winning and losing; it’s about ensuring the kids represent themselves and the school in the best way possible. That’s always been what matters most to me.”
