‘He’s passionate and he wants to coach.’ Buhach Colony names new boys basketball coach
Yingkong Moua was recently named the new boys basketball coach at Buhach Colony High School.
Moua, 28, replaces Steve Abrams, who resigned after the season. The Thunder went 40-45 under Abrams the past three years, including two playoff appearances the past two seasons. Abrams also coached Buhach Colony from 2006 to 2008.
“The program is moving in another direction that embraces community and greater competition,” said Buhach Colony athletic director Kevin Navarra.
Moua has been a math teacher at Buhach Colony the past four years and served as an assistant junior varsity basketball coach last season.
“To be honest, I’m very surprised and I also feel very humbled by the opportunity I’ve been given to help players develop on and off the court,” Moua said.
Moua graduated from Merced High in 2010. He played basketball for former Bears coach Marcus Knott on a team that reached Arco Arena in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010.
Moua says he’s surprised because he doesn’t know many people from the Hmong community who have been given this type of opportunity.
Basketball has always been a big part of Moua’s life. He remembers as a kid, shooting baskets in front of his house until it was dark.
“My parents came to this county as refugees with nothing,” Moua said.” I’m grateful to be in the position I am. It means a lot. I saw the struggles my parents went through when I was younger. My dad always taught me to work hard and do the best I can.
“Many people in the Hmong community don’t understand the value of sports on the high school level. My parents didn’t understand the importance of sports, but they always supported me.”
Navarra said Moua’s passion and ability to connect with kids made him a good fit for the program.
“He’s established himself on campus as a teacher and a club advisor,” Navarra said. “I think that will translate to basketball. We’ve seen the relationships he has with his students in the classroom. He’s passionate and he wants to coach.”
Moua doesn’t have a lot of coaching experience, serving just one year as a junior varsity assistant. He also helped as a varsity boys volleyball assistant coach.
“Learning is always going to be part of growing,” Moua said. “I feel 10 years from now, I’ll still be learning. I’m going to be learning every day. I have a lot of coaches I can turn to for advice. I can get all the advice I can, but I’m going to have to experience it to learn.”
Moua says he has been able to contact his players. He’s set up a Google classroom for his team. Even though he can’t work out with his players because of the coronavirus, he’s hoping they are working out on their own.
“The time to get better is now,” he said. “Hopefully they are doing individual workouts and working on their skills. Every day you should be working to get better.”
This story was originally published June 9, 2020 at 4:40 PM.
