BILLINGS — Every so often there’s a relationship that extends beyond that of a player and coach.
That’s precisely the case with Lockwood head boys basketball coach Bobby Anderson and Pat Hansen, an assistant coach at Southeast A rival Billings Central.
Anderson played underneath Hansen at Laurel and the two families have remained incredibly close throughout the years.
“Bobby has made me a better coach. I think he saved me a couple of times to stay within the profession because of who he is and what he stands for," Hansen said.
“It's cool just to see where our relationship has evolved and where it's continued to evolve," Anderson said. "Watching him with my son is one of the coolest things. Another grandparent in his life that Bronson gets to be around. Him and Trish are great. We love them to death and what they do for our family, it's just phenomenal."
That relationship has taken on a different dynamic of late, with Hansen wearing the very green-and-white gear that he taught Anderson and his former Locomotive players to despise.
“As a competitor I hate it. There was a rule in Pat's system: You do not wear green. I still hold to that very strongly," Anderson said.
“It's funny because I was always in Laurel. In class, if you wore green on a game day that we played Central, I'd automatically fail you," Hansen said.
Anderson was in junior high when Hansen made his way to Laurel from Gardiner. It was pretty clear from the get-go that Anderson and Hansen were almost a tailor-made pairing.
“I think by the time I got to be a senior we had a spot where if people from the crowd were watching us, you'd think we were butting heads. But it was just two competitors wanting to win," Anderson said. "My father is the same way. And another mentor in my life, Jim O'Neill, was the same way, too.
“Playing for Pat was a dream for me. He knew the right button to push at the right time, whether that was to irritate me or take me to another level. Still, to this day, he's the best coach I've ever played for."
In Central and Lockwood’s first battle this season, Anderson paid homage to Hansen with a play call from his Laurel days, which Anderson re-named "Traitor." But even throughout the battles on the hardwood, it’s all love between the families.
“I kind of want to say he's like a son to me. He's a huge big brother to my kids. When him and Aubyn asked us to be the godparents of his first child, that was one of the best days in the world," Hansen said. "The relationship he's built with my kids and how he can relate to them in ways that a parent can relate to them — I can't say enough how much he means to us and our family."
"He's been coaching me basically my whole life. That's a role that I love, and it's also a role I hold him to, too. There's times where he's kind of stopped coaching me and I'm like, 'What are you doing? Don't stop coaching me now. You've coached me my entire life,'" Anderson said.
"Father figure, mentor, godfather to my son. Our families are extremely close. Mya and Cy are brother and sister to me. My wife and Mya are best friends."
