Mike Gallo, First Coach of Steve Nash, Dies at 72

Mike Gallo, first coach of Steve Nash, dies at 72

CLEVE DHEENSAW/ TIMES COLONIST
FEBRUARY 8, 2015 04:05 PM

Mike Gallo, former UVicVikes basketball coach and Steve Nash's first coach, has died at age 72. Photograph By Adrian Lam, Times Colonist

Mike Gallo built the foundation for the University of Victoria Vikes women’s basketball dynasty that went on to win eight CIS national titles under Kathy Shields.

“I retired and the rest is legend,” quipped Gallo, before being honoured during aUVic hoops alumni banquet in 2010.

Gallo, who died over the weekend at 72, was also NBA star Steve Nash’s first coach at Hillcrest Elementary School.

Shields took over the UVic helm in 1978-79 but not before Gallo left his own legacy as head coach for seven seasons from 1971-72 to 1977-78.

Gallo took the UVic squad, then known as the Vikettes, to the national title in his first season.

He guided UVic to undefeated seasons and was a combined 60-0 in his final three Canada West seasons with players such as two-time Olympian Carol Turney, Luanne Hebb and sisters Leslie and Shelley Godfrey out of Vic High.

But each of those three seasons, nationally top-ranked UVic was upset in the national championship semifinals.

“Those three years of going undefeated in league play only to finish third in the country almost killed me,” Gallo once said.

Gallo’s impact on UVic hoops won’t soon be forgotten.

“Mike knew the game so well and his personality made every part of it fun,” Shields said Saturday. “He had the right outlook. It’s a game and he made it fun. UVic had an incredible record under him and the players absolutely loved him.”

There were several things that made his record unique. Gallo was a full-time elementary school teacher, later principal, who coached UVic in his spare time.

To top it off, he was afraid of flying, so he would take the ferry and then the train from Vancouver to meet his players for away games in Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge and Saskatoon.

Gallo would leave Thursday while his players flew out on Friday.

“Mike had incredible knowledge of the game and was ahead of his time,” said retired broadcaster John McKeachie, who grew up playing hoops with Gallo in Victoria.

Nash always made Gallo one of the coaches for his charity games at Rogers Arena featuring NBA stars.

Nash was an outstanding all-rounder growing up in Victoria but it was Mike Gallo who convinced John and Jean Nash that basketball should be his sport, McKeachie said as he reminisced.

Gallo recalled Nash in a piece written for the Times Colonist in 2006: “Steve was in my class for his Grade 6 and 7 years at Hillcrest. This was a new sport for Steve, but it didn’t take long before he was playing at a level above his peers.

“Steve took to basketball quickly. He would walk to school bouncing a tennis ball, first with the right hand, then with the left. The object of this exercise was not to stop his dribble until he reached school or home.”