His shirt was drenched in sweat. His graying hair glistened in the light at the Salthawk Activity Center, shiny with more sweat. And it was only the third quarter. He was still Chad Wintz. The former Hutchinson Community College men’s basketball coach made his high-school-coaching debut Tuesday, during Hutchinson High’s 67-37 loss to Andover Central. Wintz still prowls the sideline, probably logging at least a mile. Whether it’s the game’s first possession, or the last during a 30-point loss, Wintz does not stop coaching. He does not stop demanding his team play hard, play the right way. It’s been 10 seasons since Wintz last coached at HCC, but he remained in town as an insurance salesman. Father Time may have aged Wintz a bit, but to the ears, he’s the same coach. “I think you have to be demanding,” Wintz said. “If you’re going to teach, coach or manage people, you have to be demanding with people to get what you want accomplished.” The fans at the Salthawk Activity Center heard a new voice on the sidelines, but for the Salthawks, they’ve been listening since the summer. “He’s the same coach in practice,” junior guard Kolby Holmberg said. “We have to buy in at practice and keep getting better. We have to do what coach says. We get lazy in practice sometimes, and we can’t do that. We have to do what he says.” Laziness won’t cut it with Wintz. You’re better off trying to win Powerball than trying to be a lollygagger and play for Wintz. Effort is one thing Wintz will preach. No matter the score, players can still give effort, and that was showcased in the third quarter when Andover Central outscored the Salthawks 25-8 and pulled away. On one instance, the ball was loose after a missed Hutchinson shot. Sophomore Tre’Vaughn Jones battled for the ball. It was going out of bounds, and Jones did everything he could to keep the ball in play. The appreciative fans applauded the effort, and that moment – and a many others – were not ignored by Wintz. “Trust me, I notice those things,” Wintz said. “When you make effort plays, inside any gym across the nation, people take note and they appreciate that. That’s something we’re trying to convey.” The Salthawks’ first game under Wintz didn’t end with a victory against a quality team, but Wintz cataloged the good. Like the first half, when Hutchinson trailed 10-2 almost immediately, but they were down just 13-12 in the second quarter and 26-18 at halftime. “There were some good moments,” Wintz said. “Everyone that played had a good moment or two. Being able to sustain that is something we need to do. When things started to break down in the second half, when things snowballed on us, we couldn’t stop the avalanche. But I’d like to think we will improve each and every game. I see a lot of opportunities to teach after that one.” The Quick Hit Key stat: Andover Central made 14 of 20 shots in the second half, a sizzling 70 percent. The turning point: Hutchinson was in the game, down just 26-18 at halftime. The Salthawks had withstood an early Central flurry, and then refused to let the Jaguars pull away late in the second quarter. But things got ugly quickly in the third quarter, as Andover Central scored 14 points in less than three minutes in building a 40-18 lead. Player of the game: Hutchinson junior guard Kolby Holmberg hasn’t seen much varsity action before, but he showed he could be quite the weapon for the Salthawks this season. He sank three 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 13 points. He said it: “Kolby may have been a revelation to the people in the stands, but he wasn’t to me. I saw him work on his game consistently over the summer and into the season. He needs to keep working on his defensive positioning, but he has good offensive skills.” – Hutchinson coach Chad Wintz. Up next: Hutchinson (0-1) will make the short trek down K-96 Highway to Maize, while Andover Central (1-1) takes on Andover.