Wisconsin native puts himself in his player’s shoes
Chris Skinkis is one of the assistant coaches for Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah. He started in 2010, is 27 years old and from Seymour, Wisc. One of his duties is to assign the players to who they guard during games.
“When I was a manager in college, I was coaching, but also hung out with the players. I try to put myself in the player’s shoes,” he said.
Skinkis likes that USU-CEU has a nice campus. He likes the fact that the teachers work with their students. “They seem pretty forgiving, I like that, they allow students to do what they have to do to pass.”
This archived article was written by: Valeria Moncada
Chris Skinkis is one of the assistant coaches for Utah State University-College of Eastern Utah. He started in 2010, is 27 years old and from Seymour, Wisc. One of his duties is to assign the players to who they guard during games.
“When I was a manager in college, I was coaching, but also hung out with the players. I try to put myself in the player’s shoes,” he said.
Skinkis likes that USU-CEU has a nice campus. He likes the fact that the teachers work with their students. “They seem pretty forgiving, I like that, they allow students to do what they have to do to pass.”
Basketball wise, Skinkis likes that USU-CEU plays in one of the best leagues in the country, the fact that they can recruit some of the best players in the country and the great scholarships that they offer for athletes.
Skinkis attended the University of Wisconsin Parkside and received his degree in sports management in 2006. He continued his education at Lewis University and received his master’s degree in 2010.
He was coaching at a junior college in Kansas last year, and one night was on Facebook talking to head coach Brad Barton. Barton asked him how he was doing and then offered him a job at USU-CEU. The next morning Skinkis decided to head to Price, Utah, and never looked back.
He has been coaching since 2006. He coached at Saint Norbert College for two years, then continued at Lewis University for two years.
Beside himself, the assistant coach at Wisconsin Parkside influenced Skinkis to go into the coaching profession. His first year in college, he decided he wanted this to be his career. “It’s the only thing I want to do,” he said.
One of his biggest regrets in life was that he could have attended Drake University as a graduate assistant, but instead he decided to go to Saint Norbert College and coach.
“My goal in life is I would like to coach at NCAA D-1 level and then ultimately become a head coach at the highest level.”
