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Tom Newell, son of legendary coach Pete Newell, will be putting on a free clinic for coaches from youth basketball on Wednesday night. The clinic, which is open to anyone who has an interest in coaching basketball at any level, is scheduled from 7-9 p.m. at the Patty Center.

“The clinic is oriented toward feeder programs from youth basketball through high school and to help coaches and parents understand the different levels that kids are at in basketball programs,” Newell said Monday night. “I want to help coaches understand the levels of skill of the players that they inherit.”

Newell said he’s used the following analogy to help coaches identify skill levels of the players on their teams.

“You go from 30-watt to 60-watt to 90-watt to Halogen bulbs,” he said. “The 30-watt kids are the ones who are just happy to be on the team and wearing a uniform. The 60-watt kids have some skill, but still aren’t sure that this is their sport. The 90-watt kids can play, but don’t have the focus and desire. The Halogens are the ones who illuminate everything and every one on the teams. They are the ones who work hard at it all the time to make themselves better and the team better.”

Newell said participants at the clinic will receive illustrations and diagrams of his philosophies of basketball.

“Philosophically, we’ll touch on the game and how to improve at both ends of the court,” he said.

Newell has spent the last 30 years coaching and in playing development from college to the National Basketball Association and is now involved in several international clinics and camps. He spent the past seven months in China and Russia and will be putting on a clinic in Cuba later this summer.

Wednesday night’s clinic is part of the current player development and team camps hosted by Alaska Nanooks coach Clemon Johnson and his staff. Newell was an assistant coach with the Seattle SuperSonics when Johnson played in Seattle.

For more information on Newell and his programs, go to www.familysportstoday.com.