Photo by Joe Gerhart J&T Photography

Courtesy Art/Joe Gerhart The husband-wife Winters coaching duo of Scott and Brooke Bicknell prefer to talk about other things besides basketball when they are away from the court. "There's got to be that separation between the two," Scott said, "Otherwise the marriage wouldn't work and that's not what we're trying to accomplish."

Photo by Joe Gerhart J&T Photography

Courtesy Art/Joe Gerhart

WINTERS — He prefers an up-tempo style of basketball and doesn't mind giving up a few easy baskets if the game's pace is suitable.

She prefers a disciplined, slower-paced game, and if her team allows a layup it's enough to make her cringe.

Nonetheless, shortly after meeting Winters girls basketball coach Brooke Motheral in December of 2010, former Stamford girls coach Scott Bicknell was smitten. So smitten, in fact, that while lacking Motheral's telephone number, he decided to ask her out on a date anyway — via email.

Hitting the send button paid off.

Six months to the day after they first met as adversaries on the basketball court, Brooke Motheral became Brooke Bicknell.

A little more than a year later, Scott is now the head boys coach at Winters, giving WHS a genuine rarity: two head basketball coaches who are married to each other.

As one can imagine, the arrangement offers a host of advantages and disadvantages, both for the couple and for the school system.

Some of the pluses and minuses were discussed beforehand. Others are still being discovered.

"One of the biggest advantages is that you have someone who you trust more than anyone else, to give you feedback on your team," said Brooke, a Sundown native who graduated from Hardin-Simmons University. "We're both experienced and we can get good, honest feedback from each other. "One of the disadvantages is knowing when to say something. ... We do things differently and have different philosophies, so sometimes we can say too much."

Not that either coach is in need of much advice.

Now in her third season at Winters, Brooke guided the Lady Blizzards to the area round of the playoffs last season, and is again in playoff contention this year with tiebreakers pending.

In his first season at Winters, Scott has guided the boys team to its first district championship in years, along with a first-round playoff bye.

Yet there are still awkward scenarios that the couple has had to face — not the least of which is when one Winters team enjoys a big win while the other suffers a big loss. With one coach over-the-top happy after a victory and the other being ticked off after a defeat, some adjustments become necessary when the losing coach accompanies you on the car ride home.

"It hasn't been a problem," Scott said. "Both of us do a pretty good job of focusing on each other and being encouraging.

"That's what you've got to do, and we've have experienced both sides of that this year."

With both the Bicknells admittedly being very competitive, some scenarios can be even more challenging.

On those rare occasions when both Winters teams suffer disappointing losses, encouragement can give way to a short cool-down period.

"It can get pretty quiet," said Scott, an Illinois State graduate who migrated to Texas in 2001. "But it's one of those things that we're both pretty mature about.

"We know that the other is thinking, and we know that if we say something stupid it won't be taken well. But I think we both have a great understanding in that."

Perhaps it's better that way.

Contrary to what some may envision, the Bicknells actually prefer not to discuss basketball at all during their free time. And though they will study game tapes together and share their analysis of each other's teams, those activities are strictly done while at work.

Building a home life away from Xs and Os, remains the top priority.

"When we go home, we leave (basketball) up at the school," said Scott, who with a laugh, made it very clear that he did not propose marriage via email. "In fact, before our seasons got started, we rarely talked about basketball, even though it's a huge part of our lives.

"It may sound funny, that we don't go home and talk about the game, but we don't. ... There's got to be that separation between the two, otherwise the marriage wouldn't work and that's not what we're trying to accomplish."

Achieving that separation, however, could be even more important (and difficult) in the Bicknell's situation, given that both coaches are now emotionally tied to two teams, rather than one.

Where most girls coaches hope that their school's boys team will win and vice versa, the Bicknell's have an actual vested interest in seeing the other team succeed because it as a direct effect on their livelihood.

As one can imagine, worrying about two teams, rather than just one, is doubly taxing.

"I think it's a lot tougher, and that's something I would have never thought about before we (were married)," said Brooke, who is a high-level math teacher at WHS. "You always want the other team to do well for the kids and coaches.

"But when your husband is the one on the bench, you want them to do just as well if not better than your own team. The emotional part of that is something I never would have (imagined). ... It's crazy how much you invest into both teams. Even though I'm not at his practices, I feel like it's my team out there too."

Added Scott: "When you find yourself emotionally invested in two teams, it can be very draining the following day. You're completely spent Wednesday and you're spent on Saturday"

The Bicknells weren't the only people on the Winters campus with positives and negatives to consider before Scott's hiring.

Having a package deal operating both varsity basketball programs can, on the one hand, offer much-needed stability if the right people are found. On the other hand, it can make fixing a bad fit more difficult.

But with Brooke already performing well, both as a coach and a highly valued teacher, and Scott getting solid references from Stamford, the plus side became obvious.

"There were pros and cons that we had to weigh," Winters athletic director Stephen Hermesmeyer said. "But I didn't mind the idea of having both them here as boys and girls basketball coach, (mainly) to try to keep them here.

"The hardest thing for the small schools is in keeping good, quality people. Brooke and Scott are both good coaches, but more importantly, they're also very good people."

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Winters couple separate home life from basketball coaching