Whitney to coach football at WV

Hiring from within, West Valley High has a new football coach.

Craig Whitney, a first-time head coach, but with substantial football background, was named to replace Tim Trout. Trout resigned to become vice principal for activities at Shadle Park.

In announcing the selection, WV activities coordinator said he was the choice from a pool of candidates from inside and outside the building.

Whitney acknowledged that wins have been few during his six years as an Eagles assistant.

But, He said, “I’m excited about the opportunity. My whole campaign (for the job) was built around developing players and molding them into a team. We’ve got to start at a young age.”

Whitney was a receiver for the University of Montana that reached the Division I-AA national semifinals in 1989. He spent a season as a graduate assistant coach there and assisted at Missoula Sentinel High. He then became an assistant coach for five years at Walla Walla Community College before it dropped football.

“My wife’s from this area and I came up and got my masters degree at Whitworth,” he said.

He assisted at North Central before landing a job at West Valley. He has coached both offense and defense as a position coach and coordinator.

“I have a real broad knowledge of several types of offenses we want to try and look at,” said Whitney. “We’ll try and accommodate our personnel with the type that fits their ability.”

West Valley has at least one more year in the Greater Spokane League, but could drop to the 2A Great Northern League.

“If we’re in the league now or GNL later we’ve got to get better,” said Whitney. “If you have success it builds on itself.”