To me, he was always Coach Byrnes. As if his first name were "Coach." When I heard other teachers call him "Larry," it rang like a sour note, vaguely disrespectful. Larry may have been his name, but his essence, his true name, was Coach.

I had come into high school figuring I'd play some basketball but also terrified of not living up to academic expectations and loath to let sports siphon away study time. My future was built on a house of cards, the bottom floor of which was...