Coaching changes at Archbishop Murphy, Kamiak

Published 12:01 am Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The coaching carousel continues to turn at local high schools. Kamiak and Archbishop Murphy recently welcomed head coaches to take over their girls basketball teams, and Murphy bid farewell to boys and girls soccer coach Eddie Fernandez.

Over the past seven years, Fernandez kept both soccer programs at or near the top of the state’s 2A classification. His girls teams never finished worse than third in the state, winning the title in 2006 and 2009. The boys made the state tournament the past three years and in 2006 were an overtime loss in the finals from taking the state crown.

One of Fernandez’s proudest accomplishments came this year, when both the boys and girls earned academic state champion honors.

For many coaches it would be difficult to walk away from the sustained success, but Fernandez has the best reason. Two reasons to be more accurate: Adan and Kelyn.

“I enjoyed my time there and had some great kids come through, but personally for me it was just time to take a step back and get a chance to watch my kids, who are getting older,” Fernandez said.

While his son, 9, and daughter, 7, will be his focus for the indefinite future after 18 years coaching soccer, Fernandez didn’t rule out a comeback when his kids get older.

“Possibly in the future,” he said. “It’s definitely something that I’ve enjoyed.”

His position remains open. Murphy athletic director Rick Stubrud hopes to fill the spot by July 1.

Across the Mill Creek campus, Sturbrud recently filled the girls basketball position vacated by John Barhanovich, who led the Wildcats to the 2A state tournament the past three seasons, including a second-place finish in 2009, Barhonovich resigned after this season.

Taking over will be Mark Bircher, who has coached the Glacier Peak junior varsity since the high school opened in 2008.

“We will do our best to continue the strength of this program,” Bircher said. “I am fortunate to bring with me a very knowledgeable, energetic and passionate coaching staff.”

Previously Bircher coached the Monroe freshman boys for 13 years and spent a few years coaching select boys and girls teams in the area.

He hopes to bring an up-tempo offense and pressure defense to blend with the skills of the players already on the Murphy roster.

Bircher has worked with them for a few weeks and already is happy with the team’s direction.

“The girls are smart, hard-working, mentally tough,” he said. “We’ll keep the program going definitely.”

A few miles away in Mukilteo, Kamiak hired Wes Williams to help resurrect what once was a perennially competitive girls hoops program. The Knights went 17-9 in 2008-09 before dropping to 9-13 last year and then 4-18 in the most recent basketball season.

Williams said the Knights have a solid foundation, but are missing one ingredient.

“I told (the administration) I’m bringing Tabasco sauce,” Williams said. “(Kamiak) has everything you need right here except some hot sauce. It needs to be spiced up a little bit.”

Williams, who is originally from New Orleans, brings a pressure attack on both ends of the floor and said a minor tweak to the Kamiak playing style should yield immediate dividends.

He coached the team in one summer tournament and is already seeing results.

“I have the girls in the gym, getting them acclimated to my style of coaching, which is up and down the court, pressing,” Williams said.

Williams comes from an AAU coaching program that fed Inglemoor High School. Before that he worked in a similar role with the Blanchet boys program.

Seeing the success of other area schools — he pointed specifically to Glacier Peak — has helped Williams realize that coaches need to take a long-term approach and build a program with a strong foundation that begins with girls as young as the fifth grade.

“We are going to build a program that is sold and built with TLC: Trust, loyalty and Communication,” Williams said.

Williams staff includes Alison Lang a former two-time Olympian with the Canadian national team.

“I have a good group of girls that are excited and ready to work hard to try to bring back a winning tradition to Kamiak,” Williams said.