"When people meet for the first time," he said, "you have 3 seconds to make an impression."

Uh-oh.

My 3 seconds were up.

Oh, well. I had done the best I could.

Trying to get a handle on Mike, I had already asked him what kind of name Kopish was.

"I’m Czech and German," he said.

"Good," I said. "Maly is Czech, too."

"Had a good kolach lately?" I continued, meaning the Czech pastry that’s made in many a kitchen in Cedar Rapids and sold at my favorite Czech bakery on 16^th Avenue on that city’s west side.

I added that my favorite kolach was poppyseed.

Mike said he, indeed, was very familiar with the kolach.

So, hopefully, I made a good impression in my 3 seconds while visiting with Kopish at the home of Marv and Ruth Hiddleson of West Des Moines.

The reason Kopish mentioned the stuff about someone getting only 3 seconds to make an impression was because we were talking about psychology—something he says he uses frequently.

"I’ve implemented it into my everyday life," he explained.

Then he had a bit of fun with Hiddleson, his host who was sitting nearby.

"Marv is a pessimist, so he wouldn’t understand this," Kopish said. "I’m an

optimist. The way I approach anything in life is thinking things through and putting myself in the very best position to make myself successful.

"Basically, what I look for is comprehension and understanding. If you can get on the same page with somebody, you make life so much easier."

Obviously, that was the teacher and the coach speaking.

What a pleasure it was to be sipping on the Diet Coke provided by Marv and Ruth on a Sunday afternoon, listening to a young coach talking about psychology and not being influenced by million-dollar shoe contracts and all the other things wrong with big-time basketball.

"I always wanted to be a teacher," Kopish said. "As far as coaching, I didn’t know what sports I wanted to focus on.

"It’s a great town to be in if you want to have a sports program," Kopish said.

Hiddleson said he got to know Kopish "by being in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in Iowa City for basketball games."

You may remember Marv and Ruth as the people who have a "Hawkeye bathroom" in their home, complete with TigerHawk wallpaper and University of Iowa memorabilia.

"I told Mike, ‘If you ever get to the state tournament, I’ll come and see you play. Who would have thought he would?’" Marv said.

Kopish said his 2002 team played in the state tournament for the first time in school history.

"The girls were overwhelmed by the surroundings," he said.

They went back this past season and finished 20-5 overall—with the 20 victories establishing a school record. Who knows how long the state tournament habit will continue?

Just give Kopish 3 seconds with the team. He’ll have an idea before the rest of us.