Spiker Grinds Out Success at Army

How does a young college or university assistant coach get a job as a head coach?

I have been told by more than one athletic administrator that when going through a search, most athletic directors look for coaches who have previously successful head coaching experience (maybe at a level tier than the potential position) or have been an assistant coach at a very successful program (having a 'blueprint' of what it takes to be successful at that level).

Most young assistant coaches bring an improved level of energy or enthusiasm that can jump-start an interview with an athletic director or with a new locker room.

A great example of this is Zach Spiker, the 32-year old 1st year head basketball coach at Army who has his Black Knights out to a 9-3 start with youthful energy and defensive commitment. Thanks in part to his insider’s knowledge of the Ivy League after five seasons at Cornell, the Black Knights, who have never been to the N.C.A.A. tournament and have not had a winning season since 1984-85, are 4-0 against teams from that conference.

Spiker has quickly impressed those who have worked with him at Army and at previous spots of his commitment level and ability to grind out a career in coaching.

As a 5-foot-10 guard at Ithaca College, Spiker knew his future was on the sideline. His first role after college was as an unpaid graduate assistant at Winthrop University in South Carolina.

“He’s a character hire, not because of one of those family tree mafias,” said Damon Stephenson, who served with Spiker at Winthrop.

For income, Spiker washed cars at Griffin Motors until noon most days. For food, he ate free at Jersey Mike’s, a deli down the road. After ingratiating himself, he slid behind the counter, slipped on an apron and prepared sandwiches.

“That’s Zach,” said the Michigan assistant Jeff Meyer, who worked with Spiker at Winthrop. “He’d wash his hands, slice the bread, cut meat and put on trimmings.”

Still, Spiker craved more responsibility. After two N.C.A.A. appearances with Winthrop, he applied to be an administrative assistant at West Virginia, where his father, John, has served as trainer since 1975.

When John Beilein was introduced as West Virginia’s coach in 2002, Tony Caridi, the play-by-play announcer for the Mountaineers, plugged Spiker, a native of Morgantown.

“Zach Spiker, who we didn’t know, had developed his fan base,” said Jeff Neubauer, a member of Beilein’s staff.

Spiker’s father did not want his son to be a patronage hire.

“I never talked to John before Zach got the job,” Beilein said.

Working in the office as Beilein’s right-hand man, Spiker began to cultivate contacts.

“He’d speak to callers for 20 minutes,” Neubauer said. “The toughest transition is from that role to the court. You work with coaches, but they don’t see you coaching.”