Baker High downed Cascade 50-39 on March 11 in the elimination round of the Class 4A girls basketball tournament in North Bend. The second-ranked Cougars left the tournament with a 19-5 mark after what proved to be the final game for legendary coach Mark Stevens.
In his 32 years coaching the Cascade girls Stevens advanced to the state championship game seven times, winning it all in 2011. His approach oozed stability. He always wore a long-sleeve shirt and a necktie at games and he spent much of the game gesticulating and passionately coaching his players.
He won 583 games since taking over the program in 1990. But all those years and road games and scouting reports and practices and summer leagues and camps added up and took a toll.
“Once I decided what I was going to do I said to my wife ‘this is my last year,’” Stevens said. “I had never said those words out loud before, but I never felt so happy.
“It’s a grind. It’s a long season. And it starts right now.”
Indeed. When asked how he will fill his time once retired from coaching Stevens noted opportunities for camping and fishing that he could not take advantage of before because he was working every June.
June? Yep, that’s when the summer leagues and camps fill up the calendar.
“It goes quick,” Stevens said. “One year after another… it just flows. I had great assistants. It felt good. I enjoyed the kids and I enjoyed the competition.”
Stevens’ eyes just lit up when he talks about practice. “I never had wins and losses goals,” he said. “It’s more how much do you kids improve. And you know it when a practice isn’t working. So you learn to do things in small pieces. They want to be coached, they do.”
And athletes expect a coach to spend a lot of time talking to them.
“If I’m really quiet I might have a player come up to me and ask if I’m OK,” he said. “When you’re in the gym you should be talking 24/7. You’ve got 4 coaches and 12 players… you can get a lot of coaching done. There is a great opportunity here.”
But when practice ends, the routine shifts. “I let the girls talk first,” he said. “Otherwise they would just mimic what the coach is saying.”
And everyone responds to coaching and criticism differently, he said. “We have rules in here, but we always bend them a little bit. The girls figure it out. And if you show kids you care they will go to town for you.”
Stevens’ final team was unusual in that the roster included ten seniors. He could not recall working with such a veteran squad.
“Everybody got along and practices were great,” he said. “They definitely exceeded my expectations. Were we the No. 2 team in the state? Maybe we are No. 2. I don’t know.”
Stevens also said he preferred to work with athletes who wanted to work rathr than a more skillful player who was disruptive.
“If you are a good listener and work hard I can coach you. You don’t need great talent, but if you work hard I’ll coach you up and we’ll get results. And these are all things employers are looking for, too.”
By the numbers
Years coaching: 32
Wins: 583 Losses: 223
State titles: 2011
State runner-up finishes: 1997, 1998, 2004, 2011, 2016, 2018
