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<< Previous   of   Next >> Elizabeth Armstrong / The Herald  (click to enlarge) Dexter Griffen talks to his team during a timeout in a game this past season. Griffen, who coached the Marauders over the past 11 seasons, resigned recently to spend more time with his family.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • After 11 seasons, Mariner boys basketball coach Griffen resigns 4/28/09   HIGH SCHOOL SCORES AND SCHEDULES: By sport: BaseballBoys basketballBoys golfBoys soccerBoys swimmingBoys tennis Boys trackBoys wrestlingCross countryFootballGirls basketballGirls bowlingGirls golfGirls soccerGirls swimmingGirls tennisGirls trackGirls wrestlingGymnasticsSoftballTrackVolleyballWrestling By date: November 17 November 18 November 19 November 20 November 21 November 22 November 23 November 24 November 25 November 26 November 27 November 28 November 29 November 30 December 1 December 2 December 3 December 4 December 5 December 6 December 7 December 8 By school: Archbishop Murphy Arlington Bothell Cascade Cedar Park Christian-Everett Cedarcrest Concrete Coupeville Darrington Edmonds-Woodway Everett Friday Harbor Glacier Peak Grace Academy Granite Falls Highland Christian Prep Jackson Kamiak King's La Conner Lake Stevens Lakewood Lopez Island Lummi Lynnwood Mariner Marysville-Pilchuck Meadowdale Monroe Mount Vernon Christian Mountlake Terrace North Sound Christian Oak Harbor Orcas Island Shorecrest Shoreline Christian Shorewood Snohomish South Whidbey Stanwood Sultan Tulalip Heritage    • Stadium map By league: Cascade Conference Non-conference Northwest 1A/2B Northwest 1B Northwest 2B Wesco Wesco 3A Wesco North Wesco South STANDINGS: Select league Cascade Conference baseball Cascade Conference boys basketball Cascade Conference boys soccer Cascade Conference boys wrestling Cascade Conference football Cascade Conference girls basketball Cascade Conference girls soccer Cascade Conference softball Cascade Conference volleyball Northwest 1A/2B baseball Northwest 1A/2B boys basketball Northwest 1A/2B boys soccer Northwest 1A/2B boys wrestling Northwest 1A/2B girls basketball Northwest 1A/2B girls soccer Northwest 1A/2B softball Northwest 1A/2B volleyball Northwest 1B boys basketball Northwest 1B boys soccer Northwest 1B girls basketball Northwest 1B girls soccer Northwest 1B volleyball Northwest 2B football Wesco 3A Football Wesco North baseball Wesco North boys basketball Wesco North boys soccer Wesco North boys swimming Wesco North boys tennis Wesco North boys track Wesco North boys wrestling Wesco North football Wesco North girls basketball Wesco North girls soccer Wesco North girls swimming Wesco North girls tennis Wesco North girls track Wesco North softball Wesco North volleyball Wesco South baseball Wesco South boys basketball Wesco South boys soccer Wesco South boys swimming Wesco South boys tennis Wesco South boys track Wesco South boys wrestling Wesco South football Wesco South girls basketball Wesco South girls soccer Wesco South girls swimming Wesco South girls tennis Wesco South girls track Wesco South softball Wesco South volleyball CONTACT THE HERALD Report scores and results to 425-339-3470 or 1-866-6-SCORES (Call after 4:30 p.m.) E-mail information including items for Tuesday's Communities Sports Roundup and Thursday's Outdoor Calendar, to sports@heraldnet.com Kevin Brown, Sports Editor kbrown@heraldnet.com   Published: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 For Mariner, Dexter Griffen was more than a coach In his 11 seasons at Mariner, Dexter Griffen has been more than the coach of the boys basketball team. He's been a teacher, a father figure and, above all, a friend. By Mike Cane Herald Writer How many vital roles can one man fulfill? The unofficial record might belong to Dexter Griffen. As a longtime teacher and coach at Mariner High School in south Everett, Griffen has helped many in the community. To students and faculty, he is interchangeably known as intense basketball coach, dedicated mentor, unapologetic joker, gentle giant and animated storyteller. He is also a proud family man, the father of four daughters who range in age from 6 to 22. Josh Olson has seen all facets of Griffen. As a member of Mariner's varsity boys basketball team from 1999-2003, Olson developed a life-changing connection with Griffen, his head coach. "He's just been there for me my whole life," said Olson. "He has a big impact, and that's why I'm always keeping in touch with him." Serving as a father figure, Griffen taught Olson to reach his potential in basketball and in life. With the coach's encouragement, Olson applied for and received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, earned a teaching degree at Washington State University and is now a first-year elementary school physical education teacher in Las Vegas. When Olson decided to get married, he needed a best man. It was a no-brainer. He called Griffen. Of all the lessons Olson learned from Griffen, the one that stuck with him had nothing to do with basketball. "He really valued that part of getting a college education and being that person that no one can stop," said Olson, who did his student teaching with Griffen and coached Mariner's freshman basketball team during the 2007-08 season. Griffen's recent decision to resign from coaching after 11 highlight-filled seasons at Mariner was shocking, Olson said. But Griffen, 43, plans to keep teaching physical education and helping students. "The school loses a great coach," Olson said, "but keeps a great teacher." "I absolutely love this school," Griffen said Tuesday in his office at Mariner High. "This is the best school, to me, in the state. The kids that I've had in my program over the years have given their blood, sweat and tears -- 100 percent over the years -- and I could not ask for more." Asked why he resigned, Griffen -- who had a record of 147-111 and made five state-tournament trips at Mariner -- said he needs a break from the year-round prep coaching grind. In the so-called offseason, Griffen was busy scheduling team activities and taking players to tournaments and camps. "That stuff adds up after 11 years. It really does," Griffen said. "It's been a culmination of a lot of years of work … and I've just gotten a little tired." Griffen didn't rule out a return to basketball though. He is open to coaching at a junior college, partly because the schedule is less demanding, he said, and more flexible in the summer. He looks forward to watching his 8-year-old daughter Kylee, a 5-foot-2 third-grader, compete in Spokane Hoopfest in late June. In years past he wouldn't have had time because of coaching commitments. Griffen -- who lives with his wife Alisa and their daughters in Lake Stevens -- grew up in Longview and starred in basketball at R.A. Long High. His hoops coach there, Daun Brown, inspired Griffen to pursue a career in coaching and teaching. Griffen, who played basketball at Eastern Washington University and Montana State University, taught and was an assistant coach five years at Rogers High in Spokane before he jumped to Mariner, where he quickly realized he could make a difference. "This is my way of giving back to kids," he said, "that I know are in the predicament that I was growing up in high school, coming from a home where we didn't have a lot of money or resources." Before this season senior post Nick Malysheff didn't have money to buy his $100 team warm-up gear. Griffen stepped in and paid for it out of his own pocket. In Griffen's first season at Mariner, he guided the team to a 21-7 record and third place at the Class 3A state tournament, the top finish in program history. But it took a few seasons to craft an atmosphere of winning, unselfish basketball, he said. "When I first got here it was a culture that was kind of apathetic," said Griffen. "There was talent here, but it was a bunch of talent that did not know how to work hard or work together." He stressed maximum effort, hard-nosed defense and sharing. It caught on. After enduring records of 1-19 and 8-13 in Griffen's second and third seasons, Mariner won 117 games over his final eight seasons. "I was able to change the culture," he said, "and we did pretty well after that." It culminated in three consecutive state-tournament appearances. This past season Mariner was 20-6, won a share of the Wesco South title, won its first district title since the 1980s and won a game at state for the first time since 1999. Griffen had an intense, seemingly intimidating persona on the basketball sidelines. But those close to him discovered the multi-faceted coach's true nature. Said Malysheff, "Everybody knows he's a gentle giant." Mike Cane: mcane@heraldnet.com. Check out the prep sports blog Double Team at www.heraldnet.com/doubleteam. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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