Players’ best interests should be first concern

Tonight, Ferris High’s boys basketball team will hold its annual banquet.

Barry Olson’s Saxons will celebrate a Greater Spokane League title, a district title, a state tournament appearance and 21 wins.

Friday, the school will be looking for a coach.

The tremors from Don Van Lierop’s non-renewal as coach last year by the Spokane School District are still being felt at 37th and Regal.

The chasm it opened has yet to be bridged and right now, Olson has fallen in.

Let’s recap: Van Lierop’s three-year tenure ended abruptly last spring when the district office, after fielding complaints from a group of basketball parents, decided not to renew his coaching contract.

Van Lierop fought back, finally winning an agreement from the district guaranteeing him a chance to reclaim the position, but only after the 2004-2005 season had passed.

Olson had been hired in the meantime, and the former junior varsity coach led the Saxons to all of the above-mentioned results.

And more.

Olson’s coaching philosophy emphasizes making the kids’ experience a positive one.

He used 10 or 11 players in almost every game. He gave them freedom on the court and, like Van Lierop and legend Wayne Gilman, expected discipline off it. He did his best to give them a memorable high school experience.

From an observer’s standpoint, he succeeded.

For all of that, and the winning of course, his peers – the other GSL coaches – named him the league’s Coach of the Year, an award Gilman won five times.

So who should be the next Ferris coach?

It’s obvious the circumstances surrounding Van Lierop’s non-renewal were handled poorly, at best. If Van Lierop’s actions warranted dismissal, the school’s administration should have dropped the ax and at least told him why.

The administration didn’t, although it’s hard to tell if it was because the step wasn’t justified or if a good-old-boys network was at work. Either way, the downtown bureaucracy stepped in with a heavy hand hidden behind a veil of secrecy and made the change.

When staff writer Mike Vlahovich was able to part the veil a little, the decision seemed to revolve around the treatment of players. It is still hard to tell if the actions warranted the response, although there were a curious number of players – including a couple of kids who are easy to admire for their record as students, athletes and citizens – who abruptly left the program during Van Lierop’s years at Ferris.

But it was the senior administration’s method that really set off other coaches and teachers. If it could happen to Van Lierop, why not them?

On the surface, that seems rational enough. But the outcry after Van Lierop’s dismissal – and the convoluted response by the district – makes it seem highly unlikely such a scenario will play out again.

So who should be the next Ferris coach?

The decision has to be based on one criterion: what’s best for Ferris’ student-athletes.

Not because you’re angry at the downtown administration. Not because one might have a better chance than the other to win the state championship. And certainly not because one is your friend.

Put such thoughts aside. Ask kids who have played for either what their experience was like.

Did they grow as people? Did they enjoy themselves? Did they learn? Did they improve? Do they look back with fondness on their time? Were they treated with respect, even when being disciplined? Did they have a good experience?

One thing that’s easy to admire about educators is their willingness to put the kids’ needs first. They aren’t putting in the hours they spend because of the dollars. They are in the buildings, on the courts, on the fields for the kids.

The committee choosing the next Ferris coach should put the kids first.

For that reason, it should keep Barry Olson on the Saxons’ bench.