20 Years Leave Kent With Great Memories Of Players
Twenty years of memories swirled through the mind of Steve Kent, who resigned last week as coach of the West Valley High football team.
The game he loves went beyond wins and losses. Like he told former WV teammate John Rieger, whose son played for him this year, “Did we remember whether we won or lost as seniors? No. But we had a good time, didn’t we?”
What Kent appreciated most as WV coach was the associations he had with 20 years worth of athletes. He ticked off the names of Steve and Andy Cheroke, Tom and Ben Gannon, Steve Lebsack, Rob Gary, Chuck Forgey and Joe Bonner, among others.
WV graduate Tim Hanshaw is now a backup lineman for the San Francisco 49ers. Ty Gregorak was starting middle linebacker as a freshman this year at Colorado.
“I’ve talked to a lot of coaches who never had a kid recruited like Ty,” said Kent. “It was an amazing highlight of my career. It was unbelievable.”
Kent recalled running into 1987 graduate Ray Crocker, who told him he was the best coach he had and was like a father to him.
“I want the kids who played for me to know how much I appreciate getting a chance to work with them,” said Kent.
Kent made the resignation announcement last Wednesday at the end-of-season team awards banquet.
“There isn’t anyone who coaches, particularly in a high pressure sport, who doesn’t question himself and say, ‘Do I want to keep doing this?”’ said Kent of his decision. “Twenty years is a nice round number.”
Kent spent seven years as an assistant and the last 13 years as head coach of the Eagles.
He is a 1974 West Valley graduate who played two years of varsity football for the Eagles.
Upon graduation from Eastern Washington University, he returned to his alma mater and assisted two head coaches before assuming the top spot.
West Valley won four league championships, two when he was an assistant and two more, in 1986 and ‘87, after he became head coach. The Eagles made six state playoff appearances. The 1984 team finished second in state with Kent as defensive coordinator.
His first three years as head coach WV was 24-6.
But the Eagles did not have a winning season after 1990, going 4-4-1 in both 1994 and 1995. His overall record was 50-66-4 following back-to-back 2-7 seasons.
Principal Cleve Penberthy said numerous things went into his decision to ask for Kent’s resignation.
“We did a lot of soul searching and reflection for several weeks,” he said. “His contributions were a lot more enduring than mine. It was a very, very tough decision.”
Kent said that following last year he probably should have quit, but stubbornly hung on.
“That team was way better than 2-7 and I didn’t want to end on that note,” he said. Ultimately, the yardstick for measuring a coach, he admitted, is wins and losses. There had been public grumbling.
“When it became apparent the oars were rowing in different directions, I decided it was not worth my effort,” he said. “It’s going to be hard, but I think it’s probably best.”
Penberthy said that the search for a replacement would begin after Christmas break and that a new coach would likely come from outside the district. A senior team next year, said Kent, will ease the transition for the new coach.
Ironically, although the football team struggled in recent years, Kent’s softball coaching success went on. The Eagle girls last spring made their 11th state appearance in 13 years.
“I’ll continue coaching softball as long as they’ll let me,” he said. “I want to stay in football, but decided because of the schism, the best way to re-energize here is to get a new coach.”
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