Son Received Some Great Coaching

Ed Fisher checked the schedule long ago.

Somehow, it worked out that Fisher will be able to see all of the East Valley and North Central football games.

That’s critical because Fisher is part-time NC activities coordinator and full-time father to new East Valley coach Adam Fisher, the youngest head coach in the state at 24.

And the good fortune didn’t happen because Ed Fisher, the Greater Spokane League football coordinator, made the schedule. That was set long before EV tabbed first-year assistant Adam Fisher as Jim Clements’ replacement.

“The guy who did the schedule did well,” Fisher joked.

But other than being a fan, father will have a limited role in helping son launch his career.

“I’ll help him like I help anyone else,” Ed Fisher said. “I get calls from around the state. I’ll get more phone calls from him, but I’m not out there.

“I think he needs to do it on his own … and he is.”

It starts tonight, when EV kicks off the GSL season against Rogers at 4:30 at Albi Stadium.

Adam Fisher should call his dad, just as other coaches do. Ed Fisher was 25 when he became the head coach at South Kitsap. A downtrodden program when Fisher started, the Wolves made the playoffs 17 straight years with one state title, two losses in the title game and five other semifinals appearances before Fisher decided to move back to his Spokane, his hometown.

Ed Fisher retired with a 197-48 record.

“I have to be my own person and own coach,” Adam said. “But when you have a resource, a football encyclopedia like that, you’d be foolish not to use it.”

Adam Fisher has wanted to be a football coach as long as he can remember. He started asking questions as a South Kitsap ball boy in grade school. He began charting plays in junior high.

And he listened in when his dad picked the brain of his mentors, most notably the late Dave Holmes.

“A lot of what we’re doing here is the same basic stuff (Holmes did),” Adam said. “Dad took it and built it and changed a bit.”

Ed said, “Dave was the first guy who showed me how to teach. Before that we were presenting. Teaching is all-encompassing.”

Adam Fisher was on staff for his father’s last year and stayed at SK as offensive coordinator for D.J. Sigurdson’s first year. Then he caught on with Tom Oswald at Cheney as he finished up his degree at Eastern Washington University. Oswald then guided him to East Valley.

“He knew I had aspirations of being a head coach,” Adam Fisher said. “He said I can go out there, learn a lot of things and possibly work into head coaching. It happened sooner than a lot of people expected. I was in the right place at the right time… . There are a lot of emotions.”

The biggest influence isn’t in the X’s and O’s.

“We all run different offenses. We all run different defenses. But the core of it is pretty tight,” Adam Fisher said. “You’ll notice all the good coaches … know how to deal with people, communicate with staff, players and parents.”

There will be many phones calls and probably a conversation or two after Sunday dinner, but overall, Adam Fisher is on his own.

But he’s not alone.

As his father told him, “Whoever you deal with, no matter who they are, no matter what your feelings are, treat them with respect and dignity. You must always be good to people.”

Adam Fisher is winning, even before the first kickoff.