Jerry Zander is leaving behind the wet weather of the Pacific Northwest for the scorching sun of Arizona.
Zander, who wrapped up his eighth season as the head boys basketball coach at Archbishop Murphy High School, recently submitted his resignation. Zander and his wife, Jenny, are headed to Tucson to pursue their master’s degrees at the University of Arizona.
“It’s sad,” Zander said of leaving Archbishop Murphy. “I’ve been here for 10 years. I’ve seen it go from a pretty small (Class) B school up to a 2A school, a brand-new campus, three new buildings, so many changes.”
Jenny will study American Sign Language while Zander plans to teach for one year and then pursue a degree in educational administration. Jenny currently is an American Sign Language instructor at Edmonds-Woodway High School. Zander is the director of admissions and director of student life at Archbishop Murphy. Previously, he taught math at the school.
Zander and his wife were married last summer and held their wedding reception in the school gymnasium.
“We’re very connected to this place,” he said. “We’re really excited about the opportunities we have. I’m someone who loves the sun.”
Prior to becoming head coach Zander served as an assistant coach at Archbishop Murphy for two years. Ideally, Zander would like to take a year off from the sidelines but added that he hasn’t ruled out coaching right away.
“I’m open to it,” he said. “My preference would be to take a year off because it’s a new city and a new job.”
Zander guided Archbishop Murphy to its second state tournament appearance this past season. The Wildcats previously advanced to state in 2004.
The Wildcats (6-8 in league play) finished fifth in the Cascade Conference but then won a play-in game to qualify for the district tournament. Archbishop Murphy then won three of four district contests to advance to the Class 2A state tournament. The Wildcats went 0-2 at state.
Zander knew during the playoffs that he likely wouldn’t be coming back next season. He and his wife vacationed in Tucson in January. They discovered that the University of Arizona offered the degree Jenny was interested in. She applied to the school and was accepted.
“I didn’t tell anyone,” Zander said. “The run we made at the end of the season meant a lot to me. I knew it was the last time I was going to be coaching at Archbishop Murphy. It was special.”
The head-coaching position has been posted and Zander expects it to draw interest from quality candidates.
“I’m happy with the way I’m leaving the program,” he said. “We have a lot of really talented players returning. The (state) experience was great for them. They’ve already started working on preparations for next year.”
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