lincoln varsIty 2013
Squalicum unified basketball 2020
words:
"Coaching is an area where James shines. When the girls’ basketball coach was injured in an accident, James volunteered to take over the responsibilities of coaching the team. As soon as I heard that this was happening, I immediately volunteered to be his assistant and I am so lucky that I did. In that one short season I learned so much about coaching basketball. James is a dedicated and trained coach, but more importantly, he always keeps the important goals in mind. The formation of a team is paramount and he creates an environment that fosters positive spirit and genuine partnerships between the athletes." Joe Miller, 2013
Commentary: Coach was tough, but then so is life, GREG JAYNE Columbian sports editor
May 8, 2005; Page b1
The most important lessons are the ones that linger. The ones that last a lifetime. The ones that sneak up years later and tweak us on the nose.
Yes, those are the most important lessons in life, even if we don't realize it while we're learning them. Those are things that Jamey Wolverton has discovered, and he credits Forbes Lapp for teaching them to him.
Lapp taught those things to a lot of teenagers during his 16 years as basketball coach at La Center High School, a tenure that has come to an end with his recent firing. He taught them through two state championships in the mid-1990s, and even through a 3-17 season this past winter.
And if the current athletes at La Center are anything like Wolverton, well, they'll feel that tweak on the nose sometime in the coming years.
"When I was a 17-year-old high school senior, I did not understand the gifts Forbes Lapp had given me," Wolverton wrote in a letter to The Columbian. "At that time, although he knew an amazing amount about basketball, I thought Coach worked us too hard, was unbending, and practice was boring. It took me all of one year outside of high school to realize the invaluable life lessons Forbes Lapp gave me through his outstanding basketball coaching.
"Coach Lapp has given many young players life skills that go well beyond the realm of athletic competition: Work ethic, honesty, learning, discipline, punctuality, passion, integrity and leadership, among others."
Wolverton has carried those lessons into a coaching career of his own. He was an assistant to Lapp for eight years, before serving as the head coach at Fort Vancouver the past two seasons.
And while the administrators at La Center have every right to decide who should be their basketball coach, the expectations of young athletes and their parents have changed over the decades.
There was a time when nobody complained about working too hard, or adhering to discipline, or striving to reach high expectations. There was a time when athletics reflected the American work ethic, rather than the American hedonism.
Athletes and parents these days are quick to complain, quick to run to the administration, quick to suggest that a high school coach is too demanding or too tough or doesn't make it fun for the students.
They're quick to insist upon a change, ignoring the lessons that are being learned along the way, and administrators are often willing to cave in.
Lapp, by all accounts, was a demanding coach, and that's something that used to be celebrated.
"I think we have shifted a little bit. My generation, we didn't grow up with that work ethic," Wolverton, 32, said in an interview. "He really pushed my limits as an athlete, pushed me to try to get to be an excellent player. As a coach, he really taught me efficiency in terms of getting work done and learning a lot in the short amount of time that you have.
"What Forbes taught me is that sometimes you sacrifice your scoring average for the good of the team. Sometimes you sacrifice blood, sweat and tears."
And those are lessons that linger for a lifetime.
Commentary: Coach was tough, but then so is life, GREG JAYNE Columbian sports editor
May 8, 2005; Page b1
The most important lessons are the ones that linger. The ones that last a lifetime. The ones that sneak up years later and tweak us on the nose.
Yes, those are the most important lessons in life, even if we don't realize it while we're learning them. Those are things that Jamey Wolverton has discovered, and he credits Forbes Lapp for teaching them to him.
Lapp taught those things to a lot of teenagers during his 16 years as basketball coach at La Center High School, a tenure that has come to an end with his recent firing. He taught them through two state championships in the mid-1990s, and even through a 3-17 season this past winter.
And if the current athletes at La Center are anything like Wolverton, well, they'll feel that tweak on the nose sometime in the coming years.
"When I was a 17-year-old high school senior, I did not understand the gifts Forbes Lapp had given me," Wolverton wrote in a letter to The Columbian. "At that time, although he knew an amazing amount about basketball, I thought Coach worked us too hard, was unbending, and practice was boring. It took me all of one year outside of high school to realize the invaluable life lessons Forbes Lapp gave me through his outstanding basketball coaching.
"Coach Lapp has given many young players life skills that go well beyond the realm of athletic competition: Work ethic, honesty, learning, discipline, punctuality, passion, integrity and leadership, among others."
Wolverton has carried those lessons into a coaching career of his own. He was an assistant to Lapp for eight years, before serving as the head coach at Fort Vancouver the past two seasons.
And while the administrators at La Center have every right to decide who should be their basketball coach, the expectations of young athletes and their parents have changed over the decades.
There was a time when nobody complained about working too hard, or adhering to discipline, or striving to reach high expectations. There was a time when athletics reflected the American work ethic, rather than the American hedonism.
Athletes and parents these days are quick to complain, quick to run to the administration, quick to suggest that a high school coach is too demanding or too tough or doesn't make it fun for the students.
They're quick to insist upon a change, ignoring the lessons that are being learned along the way, and administrators are often willing to cave in.
Lapp, by all accounts, was a demanding coach, and that's something that used to be celebrated.
"I think we have shifted a little bit. My generation, we didn't grow up with that work ethic," Wolverton, 32, said in an interview. "He really pushed my limits as an athlete, pushed me to try to get to be an excellent player. As a coach, he really taught me efficiency in terms of getting work done and learning a lot in the short amount of time that you have.
"What Forbes taught me is that sometimes you sacrifice your scoring average for the good of the team. Sometimes you sacrifice blood, sweat and tears."
And those are lessons that linger for a lifetime.
