Establishing continuity
Lorin Carlon’s T-shirt says it all.
Wading in and around the West Valley girls basketball team, the first-year head coach is easily recognizable. He’s the one with the minimalist hairstyle: what nature didn’t take away, Carlon keeps cropped drill sergeant close.
And this day, starting the second week of practice, Carlon wears a crisp T-shirt with the words “Grandpa’s Stars” emblazoned across the front, complete with the names of each of his grandkids.
“I’m going to turn 60 during the season,” Carlon said. “I’m not sure how long they’re going to let me stay around here, but I’ll be here as long as they need me.”
That kind of open-ended commitment is just what West Valley needs. Carlon is the fourth head coach the Eagles have had in the past four years – making for more coaches than the program has had victories in that period.
And commitment is exactly the word to use to describe Carlon’s devotion to the program. Considering the price of a gallon of gas, most of his coaching stipend goes into fueling his two-hour daily commute from his farm in Pine City, Wash.
But it’s nothing new. Carlon served as an assistant under the school’s two most recent head coaches: Paul Voorhees and Jamie Pancho.
“I give myself a good hour each way,” Carlon laughed. “If there are no trains and the traffic is good, I can make the drive in 51 minutes. When the weather gets bad, I give myself two hours.”
After 11 seasons as the head coach at St. John-Endicott, where his teams posted five consecutive top four finishes at the State B tournament from 1993 to 1997 (including the 1996 championship), Carlon obviously has plenty of fuel left in his tank, although his long coaching career wasn’t something he initially set out to do.
“Dick Behrens had some really good teams there in the late 80s,” he said. “He got married and left, and it was just after that that I started to help out. I figured I’d do it for a year because I enjoyed it, and I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Many of this year’s seniors played for Carlon’s junior varsity squad two seasons ago, and the coach has a strong sense of empathy.
“In a way, I feel sorry for these girls,” he explained. “They’ve been working so hard, trying to improve. They’ve come a long way, but every time you change coaches the way we have here, it’s like taking three steps back.”
Establishing continuity is Carlon’s number one goal. En route, he plans to follow some sage advice.
“My wife, who still teaches at St. John, gave me some very good advice,” he said. “She said that, if I really wanted to accomplish something with girls, the first thing I should do is get them on my side.”
He accomplishes that with a patient demeanor and a little grandfatherly charm. During drills he’s positive, stopping to explain not only how, but why, plays must be run in certain ways. Practices occasionally take a time out – with Carlon sitting on the edge of the bleachers with his players sitting around at his feet while he discusses whatever topic needs addressing.
Just don’t think the coach is soft.
“I used to be a cop,” he laughed. “They don’t get away with very much with me.”