The 2017-18 season will Patrick's seventh year on the Ohio State staff. He served his first five seasons as an assistant coach and was promoted to Associate Head Coach by Kevin McGuff prior to the start of the 2016-17 season. Outside of his coaching duties, Klein in charge of scheduling and plays a major role in donor relations and the academic success of the student-athletes. - OhioStateBuckeyes.com(minor editorial for years)
I have known Patrick just about his entire life as we first met when he was in junior high playing basketball. I hosted a local radio show that highlighted the local elementary and junior high student-athletes. Patrick was the part of a very special team that as high schoolers played in the Ohio High School Athletic Association final four from little old Belpre, Ohio (my first hometown as a youngster).
Had they won their semi-final game that year (lost to Casstown Miami East 61-57) they would have faced a young LeBron James in the final. Still only one of two Belpre teams to ever make it to the final four in OHSAA. I have been close to him for a long time, and he sat down for brunch and tea with me recently to talk about his passion, The iBELIEVE Foundation.
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| Me and Patrick at an Ohio State football night game, can always count on him to stop by and say hello and ask me how I am doing - class act! |
Patrick - As I was driving from Champaign to Columbus and returning to Ohio State, I knew something was missing from my life. I had such a great passion for coaching basketball but I did not have a strong purpose in my life. I thought that I really needed to do something for my home community. There did not exist a lot of opportunities for young people so I wanted to change that. The issue of education was such a big topic due to failing levies and teacher apathy that I wanted to start right with the students. Thus, I decided to send kids to summer camps which would get them out of the region and have them experience other motivated student leaders from around the state.
Chris - How much time and effort was put into organizing the first event that summer, and describe your feelings after it was over?
Patrick - I was shocked on how hard it was to start a non-profit here in the United States. Luckily, I was able to connect with the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio, which took all the paperwork and accounting away from the equation. It allowed me to focus directly on fundraising and providing opportunities. That first summer – I heard the stories of how the camp impacted the student’s lives and it was really rewarding. I knew then that I had to make it my mission to help these young people find their own voice.
Chris - What were some of the ideas that came from that first summer, and when did you begin to realize you were going to have to balance coaching career with iBELIEVE? Who did you go to for help first?
Patrick - I knew that I needed to build a team. If I were to grow this in new areas, I needed manpower and financial assistance. My very close friend Christopher Dutton shared my same passion for the region. He grew up in Belmont County and worked endlessly to grow iBELIEVE in that region. Thankfully, we had 100 students in that second year and a lot of that was because of his hard work and dedication. That was enough fuel to start this fire. The word spread through communities and through school districts. The next step was finding a director of programming that could put on more of these camps – so I hired my long time mentor Connie Miley. She allowed this thing to grow exponentially. As for work balance, all the credit for iBELIEVE should go to my team. They are the ones doing the daily work and providing these incredible experiences. I am just the voice of the organization and make sure we find the funds to provide these opportunities.
Chris - Tell us about the foundation today and what any of us can do to help out?
Patrick - If you believe in the future and this region, there are multiple ways to give back. Most importantly, we need donations to help this organization grow. Our goal for 2018 is to raise $1.25 million for the organization. This will provide nearly 2,000 summer camps and activities throughout the school year. If you are a business leader, we have sessions called iCONNECT where we bring our donors in to meet our students especially our older students. It happens on EVERY Tuesday of summer camp. If you are a teacher or educator, we can always use adults to work our camps. Help our kids grow. And provide a life-changing experience not only to the students but also to the volunteers.
Chris - How much of a window away from Ohio State responsibilities is there, if any? What does your summer look like between the foundation and job?
Patrick - Unfortunately, I work really hard all year for these summer camps to happen. But I only get to show up five or six days for a couple of hours. This organization is not about me, though. It’s about the young people. It’s about their futures. And it’s about providing opportunities. It is an easy decision to pass up on vacations or personal time to spend those hours on the foundation. It’s worth every single minute.
Chris - You are the only one that can tell the world the differences between Coach Foster and Coach McGuff. We don't want to know everything ,but tell us what's the key things you've learned from both?
Patrick - Coach Foster is a basketball genius. He knew the intricacies of the game and taught them at the highest level. His knowledge was incredible. Coach McGuff is a constant learner who searches out the best and goes and learns from them. I respect that a lot and his work ethic is in the top 1 percent. Coach Foster is a Hall of Famer and Coach McGuff will be one without a doubt. But most importantly, they both are people of high character that believed in responsibility of teaching LIFE SKILLS to their players.
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Patrick - My ultimate goal of iBELIEVE is to be the LARGEST Appalachian youth leadership organization in the region. There are 13 states in the Appalachian region. My goal is to have camps and opportunities in each of them. We are growing to state number five in the summer of 2018. This region needs a voice that can articulate how special the people and the students are here. Unfortunately, there is so much negativity being told: opioid crisis, lack of education, and motivation. I see this region in a whole different light of hard working, intelligent, and supportive communities. The leaders of Appalachia will be the leaders of the future.
Chris - What can Buckeye fans expect from the Ohio State women's team this year?
Patrick - As for OSU WBB – we will have one of the most aggressive offenses in the country led by Kelsey Mitchell. We have an incredible pre-season schedule filled with top 25 teams. It will be a year to remember but a challenging year. I think we have the capability to compete for another Big Ten title and also a chance to play in Columbus for the WFF. But that road will be a challenging one that will need some luck with a healthy team all season long!
I would like to thank Patrick for taking time out of his very busy schedule to sit down with me and chat. Please follow him on twitter @patrickwklein and help out with iBELIEVE if you have the time or the money.
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