First couple of coaching
Juggling lineups is easy for John and Lisa Phelan.
It’s life that takes a little extra effort.
The Phelans are Spokane Valley’s first couple of coaching. Lisa Phelan enters her ninth season as head cross country coach at Freeman High School. John is East Valley’s head baseball coach.
At first glance, the couple’s schedule doesn’t sound complicated. Cross country is a fall sport; baseball heralds the coming of spring.
But wait. While Lisa coaches cross country, Phelan helps coach football. And while John hits fungos with his baseball players, Lisa coaches junior high track in Freeman.
“The fall and the spring can be pretty hectic,” John said. “Sort of makes you look forward to winter.”
The Phelans make their marital juggling work. They celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary today. Well, maybe not celebrate. Today Lisa is attending a clinic for cross country coaches at Whitworth College. The pair actually will celebrate Sunday by playing a round of golf together.
The juggling begins in earnest Monday when Lisa holds her first cross country workout. John began football workouts Wednesday.
But believe it or not, fall sports are just the warmup.
“It is very busy,” Lisa Phelan said. “In the spring we don’t know if we’re coming or going. John coaches baseball, I coach junior high track and my son plays baseball — and a lot of the time his games were at the same time as my husband’s. I think we’re in the car most of the time.”
Both coaches agree: The same team effort they ask of their individual players is something they live every day in order to make sure that all their home bases are covered — that the kids are where they need to be as well as each coach.
“We’re each other’s support system,” John said. “We know each other’s frustrations and we know each other’s successes and we share that pretty easily with one another. That makes it pretty nice.”
Each coach has had a share of success. Lisa has coached three individual state champions: Laura Halvorson, who won three straight Class A championships, John Russell and Reid Carrell. John’s Knights were the regular-season Greater Spokane League champions.
“I’m one of John’s biggest fans and he’s one of my biggest supporters,” Lisa said. “We were driving home from the state cross country meet one year and he said to me ‘Has it sunk in yet?’ I said, ‘Has what sunk in yet?’ He said, ‘You have two state champions!’ I said, ‘That’s pretty cool, isn’t it.’ He said, ‘I don’t think you even get it yet, Lisa.’ “
“That’s kind of the joke around the house,” John admitted. “She’s sent three kids on to run at Division I schools. I haven’t had anyone go play Division I. I’m not allowed to forget that.”
Lisa Phelan had planned to step down this season. Oldest son, J.T., turns 9 in October and is beginning to play sports himself — with his mom coaching his summer Hoopfest and Valley Hooops teams. Daughter Jordan 6, and son Jace, 2, figure to follow in his footsteps and be active athletes as they grow up.
However, the Freeman School District could not find a replacement coach and asked if she would consider staying on, and she agreed.
“The kids are great examples and great leaders,” Lisa explained. “That’s why it’s so easy to say yes to coaching another year. They are the nicest kids and it becomes a real family.
“In fact, J.T. was very upset that I resigned. He’s grown up with these kids. In fact, I remember driving back from state with John (Russell) holding my daughter in his lap when she was eight months old.”
The same is true with the East Valley baseball team.
“When we lost our last game and missed going to state, he was in tears,” John explained. “He was really upset. He was really close to the players, and they were great with him. He said, ‘But Daddy, we worked so hard this year!’ I had to explain to him that sometimes it just works out this way.”