Former coach leaves lasting impact on players

Post season basketball tournaments bring players old and new together, and Eagle writer Diana Zimmerman caught up with her former coach and Mule players.

Photos and story by Diana Zimmerman

"The difference between winning and losing is so close sometimes, Paul Dretsch said. "There is a lot of luck involved."

The Wahkiakum High School girls basketball got its first dose of luck when Dretsch, a football player and wrestler raised in Minnesota, finished his teaching degree at Pacific Lutheran University in 1977 and was hired to teach at JA Wendt Elementary School.

They just didn't know it yet. Not Dretsch, not the girls.

What he did know was this: He wanted to teach and he wanted to coach.

What he could never have possibly imagined was that girls basketball would become the hub on which his whole life would spin.

In 1978, John Thomas, the athletic director at the time, told Dretsch that a girls basketball coaching job had become available. Mike Merriman, a former teacher who had enjoyed a successful college basketball career, convinced him to take the job, even though Dretsch knew very little about the sport.

"I had coached when I was in high school and college," Dretsch said. "I think the reason I took the basketball job was to find out if my belief system would work in coaching. It didn't matter what I coached. That's where the opportunity came for me and I jumped at it.

"Kids can be successful way beyond what they believe they can be," he continued. "I was a big believer in hard work. That is what gives you the mental toughness. I tried to get kids to live in the moment and be as good as they could possibly be. I wanted kids to take pride in themselves, believe in themselves, play hard and have fun. I knew basketball was just a vehicle to understand the rest of life.

"I believed in having personal relationships with each kid," he said. "I really believe that is one of the keys to coaching, to get into their world and understand them and respect them. I respected kids; I just wanted them to respect me back. I would do anything for them. I still would if any of them called me."

In 1978, the girls took on the new coach with new ideas and a firm, disciplined style, and they "bought in", Dretsch said, and it made all the difference. He admits he tried to make up for his lack of knowledge with a healthy dose of conditioning back in the early days.

"I believe girls can do things equal to boys," he said. "Just because you are girls doesn't mean you can't run lines or go through a hard two hour practice. Nobody was going to outwork us."

In the eight and a half years that he coached girls basketball at Wahkiakum High School, his teams ran a lot of lines, and it paid off when it came time play his style of running game.

"We were pressing and doing things a lot of teams weren't able to do yet," Dretsch said. "They weren't able to handle the ball against the kind of pressure we put on. And we were deep. I believed that if we played good defense, offense would take care of itself. That philosophy allowed us to be successful right out of the blocks."

His first team went to state and lost to Ritzville in a quarterfinal game, 52-54. Ritzville went on to win the state championship.

"It took that loss for the kids to realize we were good," Dretsch said. "That year really spring boarded the future, the next seven to eight years for basketball."

The next year, 1980, the girls won the state championship.

"Back in those early years the power houses were Naselle, Willapa Valley and us," Dretsch said. "I think those first seven years we won six district championships. Every year we went to state, we won at least three games. When I started, everything was about the teams on the east side but we developed a reputation over here as a good team."

"The teams we had back then had that killer instinct," he continued. "You don't always see that. I knew coming out of the locker room, win or lose, the team we played was going to be in a dogfight with us."

He's grateful for all the support he received from the kids, their parents and the community.

"They were tremendous kids with a lot of talent," Dretsch said. "I didn't want to mess it up. I put my heart and soul in having kids find success. I wanted to let them see what they were capable of doing. It was magical. It was for me. I hope it was for them."

After his team took fourth place at state in 1985, he got married and decided to turn his attention to new challenges, and another coach stepped in for a time. Eventually he and his wife and family moved away from the area.

Coach Dretsch's record with the Wahkiakum Mules girls basketball team was 161-40. He took the girls to state six times in the seven years he was head coach. They all placed. His teams won five league championships along with their six district championships.

He would go on to coach for another 23 years.

In 2002 he received recognition for being one of the top 5 "B" coaches in District 4.

In 2007, his last year coaching, he was one of the coaches for Washington vs Oregon All Star game. They beat Oregon 103-54.

At least 26 of his players went on to play college basketball.

"It was a fun run," Dretsch said. "It's been a fun life."

Dretsch had a few opportunities to watch this years team. Some of the girls on the team are daughters of the girls he used to coach.

"I think Robbie (Garrett) is doing a nice job with them," Dretsch said. "This team has a lot of talent. They have the inside game and the outside game. It is just a matter of how hard you believe and how hard you play for each other. You let the chips fall where they fall, and you hope you don't play the best team in the finals."

"There is no tournament like the 2B," he said.

Some words of wisdom:

--No kid is bigger than the team. Superstars can be taken away, but it's hard to beat a team.

--The game is made up of four short eight minute quarters. The journey is more important.

--Don't leave the cupboard bare for the next coach. Give them a chance.

"I realized I had a gift working with girls basketball," Dretsch said. "I realized that was where I belonged. I never dreamed. I thought it would be football. Once I got into it I really enjoyed it. I couldn't believe how hard the girls would work for you. That was one thing that stood out so much. Girls, hands down, worked harder than guys."

"I just hope I made a positive impact on their lives," he said.

He did.

Here is what a few of his former players had to say:

He was my favorite teacher (I had him for fourth grade, middle school and high school!) He came on as my basketball coach the last few weeks of my senior season and I learned a lot from him in a short amount of time, but my fondest memories of Mr. Dretsch revolve around softball. He was such a great coach for so many reasons. I think the fact that he still has relationships with so many of his former players is a testament to the kind of coach he was. Even though he is now retired, he has taken the time to reach out to my daughter to mentor and give her some basketball pointers this year. I just think working with and helping people is and always will be in his blood. -Kristen Tarabochia Souvenir

When I think of him I remember his/our mantra: Pride Hustle and Desire, PHD. It led us to a state championship and I have thought of it at times throughout my life. I guess it can apply to more than just sports. -Janna Vanderwood Doumit

He told me I could fly when I was in middle school. I felt seen. I felt like I suddenly had something to offer. When I got to high school, he worked us harder and ran us harder than any coach I've ever known, before or after. He saw the best in us and expected more, and I wanted to rise to meet his expectations. -Diana Zimmerman

He taught us to believe in ourselves and had high expectations. He set goals for us and truly believed we could achieve them. We talked about our PMA. How's your PMA today? It stood for positive mental attitude. He studied the game and looked at each group of players and how to use them to the best of your abilities. Still some of my best memories are my senior year of basketball. His first year.- Theresa LaBerge Libby

So many memories. But what just brought tears and so much emotion: He gave me back the gift of believing in myself. PMA! After I broke my neck, my self image was in the tank. He believed enough in me to let me play again the next year and be part of something so wonderful. He pushed me beyond what I thought I could do, he never let me say that I couldn't do it. It's a gift that was so incredibly valuable. One that was immeasurable really. He was/is amazing. -Judy Paulsen Gaffney

Coach Dretsch was very knowledgeable about basketball and brought out the best in all of us. He really emphasized the fundamentals of the game and made sure we were in better shape than any of our opponents. When game time arrived we knew what we needed to do. I feel very fortunate to have had him as a coach. He did a good job preparing me to play college basketball. -Michelle Thomas-Fladebo

He was my coach for three years in high school and helped shape me into the person I am today! He pushed us hard and his expectations for us were always to play to the best of our ability. We went to State every year- finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd! What great memories we had Coach Dretsch was not only an amazing coach, he is still an amazing friend. He has come to watch my daughters play and is still a part of our family. I respect and admire Coach Dretsch and I am thankful I was one of his players! -Shelley Merriman Thomas

For Mr. Dretsch, I have never worked harder, physically, than when playing for him. He was a very good, tough, disciplined coach. -Stephanie Cochran Prestegard

He was a great coach, and we won a lot of games. We're friends on Facebook! -Paula Quigley

He is one person that really helped me during high school. He really believed in unity and toughness. We were a family as a team. We would go to each person's home the night before a game and have dinner. We worked hard and believed in ourselves. -Kim Wright Carter

I realize in retrospect what a great coach he was, making us learn intricate plays to perfection, strict at practice, and really training us to be champions. He was taking our natural talents and expanding them - not letting us just run around and do our best, but developing very deliberate strategies and game plans. It's the type of thing you don't necessarily understand until later, but he was a really, really, brilliant coach. --Kathleen Patterson Plate