A graduate with Philomath High School’s Class of 2015, Trey Ecker enjoyed competing in athletics with the Warriors and proved to be a standout in football and basketball. He went on to play collegiately at College of the Redwoods in Eureka, California, and Linn-Benton Community College in Albany.
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Nowadays, the 25-year-old Ecker works as a direct support professional and stays heavily involved in athletics as a coach. In fact, he’s an assistant coach as part of his dad’s (Blake Ecker) Philomath High boys basketball program and has also done some coaching with younger kids — most recently with seventh and eighth graders in football. He also done his share of sports officiating.
Ecker accepted an invitation to participate in this week’s Inside Philomath feature and answered five questions.
Q: You played on some pretty successful teams at Philomath High. If you had to pick out one moment that would stand above the rest, what would it be?
A: Winning the state championship with my dad my junior year on that team — 2013-2014 probably would be the standout year for sure. It was a pretty special team and playing and Gill in that environment in that setting was special for sure. It was definitely home-court advantage when it was held there. So that was fun.That definitely sticks out to me.
Q: How would you describe the experiences that you had in football and basketball at the collegiate level?
A: You realize very quickly the speed. You’re not out there with the regular guys from 4A, especially at that level, and you get to experience certain things that you don’t here. But the speed, for sure, is probably the biggest thing that I realized that you quickly had to adapt to.
Q: Would you like to lead your own high school basketball program at some point in the future?
A: That would be a dream of mine. I think it’s been the dream for as long as I can remember. It would be a blast. I love it. I’m competitive. I love to compete. I love to win. And I tip my cap a lot to the atmosphere, the chemistry, whatever you want to call it, the pedigree that he has built here. Pop’s (Blake Ecker) done a good job of building that up. Whether it’s here or whether it’s somewhere else, that’s something I definitely am interested in.
Q: What do you love best about working with youth, whether it’s high schoolers in basketball or younger kids at PYAC?
A: I think the thing I love the most about it is it’s something different every day. Whether little Timmy’s upset today or the next day he’s great — it is what it is. Every day is a new challenge. It’s building those relationships and really making a difference in that kid’s life whether it be through sports or just as a friend, as a mentor. I think that the biggest thing I like about being around youth sports is just developing their character whether they’re young men or young women … I think that’s the biggest thing that I like about it.
Q: What do you do for fun when you have time away from your daily routine?
A: I play pick-up basketball when I can, so it’s more sports, I watch sports. But I do like to get out and hang with my friends, spend time with them while I can. Life gets crazy as you get older so I cherish the moments I’ve got right now.