Union (Dugger) head coach Benji Boyd and senior Megan Gambill take a moment to look at their tournament championship trophy the team earned after winning the Red Hill Invitational tournament this season. (By BJ Hargis/Greene County Daily World).

In today's world of sports, from elementary and at every stage all the way up to the professional ranks, a coach is measured by the amount of wins and losses he/she accumulates. At more developmental levels, such as high school, on the court success, or lack thereof, more times than not overshadows the bigger picture -- life lessons.

Growing up I had the honor of having a coach -- Erich Blevins -- that not only cared about how much you learned in practice but how your home life was and if you were prepared for future endeavors in life.

Going on my second year here at the Greene County Daily World I have once again had the pleasure of coming across such another great coach -- one that takes pride in more than just X's and O's.

Union (Dugger) High School varsity girls basketball coach, Benji Boyd, has been around the game of basketball nearly his whole life. His son, Brody, graduated as the Bulldogs all-time leading scorer as he guided his team to the Class A state championship game in 2000. He also finished his stellar career as the No. 3 scorer in the history of Indiana boys basketball players. From Union (Dugger) Brody went on to have a successful four-year career for coach Steve Alford at the University of Iowa -- with Benji making many road trips each year watching top ranked teams play on a weekly basis throughout the Big Ten Conference.

So to say Benji knows a thing or two about the game of basketball would be an major understatement. He spent many years coaching girls and boys elementary and junior high teams as well as being a junior varsity coach for the boys high school team. Boyd finally got his crack at coaching the girls high school varsity program during the 2006-07 season when he replaced Joe Dunagan right before Christmas break -- Boyd was overlooked by the Northeast School Corporation as head coach before the season started.

Boyd's Lady Bulldogs finished the season 4-7 under his watch, then finished last season with a 10-10 record in his first full season. This past year the Lady Bulldogs improved by three wins as they had their season end in the Class A sectional championship game against White River Valley. The team also won a tournament championship over Christmas break at Red Hill, Ill and was Co-Tri-River Conference champs with county rival North Central.

A record of 13-9 may not sound all that impressive, but considering Boyd only had eight girls at his disposal each night, with no junior varsity schedule, makes each win a little more meaningful.

But the unique thing about Boyd is he does not put much stock into wins and losses -- not saying he is not passionate about the game. Speaking with the third year varsity coach at the start of the season of his goals for the team, the first goal mention was to have fun. Winning games, a conference title or sectional title takes a back seat to something as simple as having fun.

Watching some coaches, when things are not going as diagrammed, you may see them yelling until they turn blue in the face, throw a clipboard down or get the occasional technical foul from harassing the officials a little too much from a blown call. Boyd on the other hand, for the most part, is as cool as the other side of the pillow. Based on reactions from the sideline alone, it would be hard to tell if Boyd's team are winning or losing at any particular juncture in the game.

A prime example of some of Boyd's unique approach to a not so great game situation his team was in came against sectional foe Clay City earlier in the season. The host Eels just went on a run to take a double-digit lead towards the end of the first half. Boyd calls a quick 30-second time-out to try and prevent the game from getting further out of hand. During the time-out Boyd cracks a joke to loosen the team up. The strategy worked as his Lady Bulldogs finished the half on a strong note and eventually won the game.

Boyd is not big on showing the other team up as well -- well as matter of fact he does not believe in it at all. And he does not like to talk much about the game if his team is on the positive side of a blowout. Some coaches are just the opposite, like to give their team all the praise in the world in blowouts and not so many kind words in defeat. Boyd finds more positive from his team in a 10-point loss than a 20-point victory.

Another classy example from Boyd came in their sectional championship loss to White River Valley Saturday night. With just over a minute to play and the Wolverines up by 13 points, Boyd pulls his seniors from the game so the crowd could give them one last standing ovation in their last high school game.

One of the hardest part of this job of being a reporter is interviewing coaches and players that are on the losing end of a championship game. Saturday night was no easier in sifting through questions to ask Boyd after their season had ended. Once again by asking questions to Boyd it was hard to tell if is team had won or not based on his reaction, that was until one final question was asked -- what did the seniors mean to him and the program.

You could hear the veteran coach's voice crack as he was trying to keep himself composed when mentioning each of his six seniors that just played their final varsity basketball game. Spoken from a true humanitarian the interview concluded with: "I am going to miss all six of them. They are all exceptional kids. Practice will not be the same next year without them. Not for what they bring to the basketball court but just knowing them personally."

Sometimes the game is not about the championships won or lost, but about just having fun, the memories and friendships formed and life lessons learned.

Travis David is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World and can be reached at 812-847-4487 ext. 20 or tdavid@gcdailyworld.com