This is off the record

This is off the record.

Just once I began an interview with James Forni without him first invoking the “this is off the record” code of silence. Of course, before long we were chatting unrestricted about any and all aspects of the game, and I would have to invoke my own code of restraint to keep us both out of trouble.

The only time I can recall him not, jokingly, requesting to be off the record was back in 2004, when I first met him as the new Casa Grande High School varsity coach. He and his good friend Scott McKenna were preparing to take over the Casa Grande junior varsity responsibilities when circumstances vaulted Forni into the varsity job.

The only time I ever saw James even appear slightly nervous during an interview was during that first meeting. I suspect there were two reasons.

First, it was his first interview as a head coach (it certainly wouldn’t be his last). Second, the spotlight was on him. That always made him uncomfortable. He always wanted the attention to be given to others, especially the players.

He did have one request, more like a polite command. “My name is James,” he pointed out, quickly disposing of any temptation to ever write Jim or Jimmy.

The second time we talked, when the emphasis was on the players and the team, we quickly developed the rapport that James seemed to have with everyone.

Not long after the news about his illness had started to blow through the community like a cold Casa spring wind, I again sat down with James to talk about the Gaucho outlook for the upcoming season. We talked at length about the team, being careful to mention every player. Then we talked about him, about his health struggles and what he faced ­- off the record, of course.

I wasn’t around during James’ playing days, but coaches like Rick O’Brien and Ron Petroni tell me he was a heck of an athlete. I caught a brief glimpse of those skills during an alumni football game when he grabbed a touchdown pass and, giving in to his youthful enthusiasm, proceeded to spike the ball over the goal post. I think he was a little embarrassed by the display ­- I thought it was great.

As McKenna reminded me when we talked about his friend, I was privileged to see first hand the love and respect James received from his players. Some coaches rule through fear and intimidation. James ruled through care and compassion. He loved his players, they loved him and they responded. Everyone I talked to this week told me his players would run though a wall for him. It’s a wonder the Casa gym is still standing.

Whether it was after a spectacular win or a devastating loss, James was always willing to talk, eventually on the record. Some of my post-game talks with him are classics. He once explained after a not-so-stellar Gaucho game: “Our synapses weren’t firing tonight.”

I think perhaps that something that gets overlooked, and was certainly overshadowed by his own personality, was the fact that James was a darned good basketball coach. His first team went 7-18. In the next 10 years, he never again had a losing season. His teams were always among the best in the Sonoma County League, and when Casa stepped up to the North Bay League, they showed they could compete with the big boys.

His last team should have at least shared the NBL title had a referee not gone to sleep at the whistle and refused to grant the Gauchos a timeout in the final hectic seconds of a loss to Cardinal Newman.

James’ success as a coach was part talented players, part his knowledge of the game, part his willingness to include his assistants in the program, part just hard work and a great part because his players kept running through those darn walls that were supposed to limit their success.

I will remember much about James Forni ­- his humor, his happiness, his compassion, his caring, his honesty, or, as one friend put it, his “James being James.”

Above all, I will remember his courage.

I can only imagine what James went through physically and emotionally as he kept going ­- teaching, coaching, caring for others. He tried gamely not to let it show. To the very end, he tried to make his life what it had always been about - family, friends and young people.

There are many who liked, respected and, yes, loved James Forni. Put me in that parade.

And that’s on the record.

(Contact John Jackson at johnie.jackson@arguscourier.com)