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About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (March 20, 2020)
PAGE C6, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 20, 2020 COBURN, continued from Page C1 title game appearance while the basketball team reached the semifi nals in 1991. “They were all super kids and the city of Mount Angel just takes you in,” Coburn said. But with being a high school teacher and coach for two var- sity sports — all while living in the Salem area — Coburn wasn’t getting enough time with his family. “I was missing my kids ac- tivities by being a high school head coach for two programs. I was busy from August un- til March. So me and my wife talked about it and decided that I needed to help raise my kids and not just everyone else’s kids,” Coburn said. So when Whiteaker Middle School offered him the P.E job in 1993, he was more than hap- py to take it. However, it wasn’t long be- fore Coburn started coach- ing again as he took over the Whiteaker volleyball program in his fi rst year at the school. Even though he started out his education career as a basket- ball guy, it’s safe to say that he is a volleyball guy now. Coburn has amassed more than 400 wins in his volleyball coaching career and has had more than a dozen undefeated seasons at Whiteaker. “I really do love it. The girls at this age, you can develop them. And having been a varsity coach, you know what needs to happen and where kids need to get to, so I have always tried to do that,” Coburn said. “It’s been a wonderful ride and the kids play so hard. It’s been fun.” Coburn also takes pride in making sure that his girls are prepared for high school volley- ball, so he fostered relationships with each volleyball coach Mc- Nary has had over the last 27 years to make sure he relays the high school program’s language and philosophy to his players. McNary’s current volleyball coach, Crystal DeMello, was one of Coburn’s former players at Whiteaker. “He’s always been such a great coach and worked on fun- damentals. We had a great team at Whiteaker when I played. He perfectly balanced fun with hard work at practice. Coburn made competition fun,” De- Mello said. “We’ve been fortu- nate at McNary to have such an experienced and dedicated coach at the middle school level. Coburn has invested in his pro- gram throughout the years and it shows. Collaborating with him at summer camps makes the transition to high school seamless. He will be missed.” But Coburn has done more than coach volleyball in Keizer. He was an assistant boys bas- ketball coach at McNary from 1995 to 2009 — the Celtics won six league titles during that time frame. In 2004, he also took over the track & fi eld program at Whiteaker — who won the All- City crown on both the boys and girls teams last season. Coburn says that it can be tricky to maintain balance in his life at times, but that arriving at school at 6:30 a.m. during the week helps him stay organized and accomplish what he needs to. “I try to leave everything here. That’s why I come early and stay late. The balancing is diffi cult, it takes a lot of time. Some people don’t want to give the extra time or take on the extra things. But me, I love doing things. I love organizing,” Coburn said. Over the course of his career, Coburn has won numerous awards for coaching excellence. His fi rst award came back in 1981 when he was named the Tri-River Coach of the Year. He has also been recognized as the Oregon Middle School Coach of the Year twice (2006, 2012). In 2009, Coburn was induct- ed into the McMinnville High School Sports Hall of Fame along with the 1979 boys bas- ketball team. During that same year, he was named the Valley League Assistant Coach of the Year. In 2016, Coburn was recog- nized by NBC Sports North- west — formally known as Comcast Sports Net — as the network’s All-Star Coach Award winner, which includ- ed a $5,000 cash prize to go towards the Whiteaker athletic programs. Despite the accolades, Co- burn is humble to the core. “I get great kids and we do well. Yes, I have won some awards, but it was mainly be- cause of how good the kids are,” Coburn said. Coburn says he’s going to coach one more year of eighth grade volleyball, but he conced- ed that the team needs some new blood after this season. “It’s time for someone else to start running the program,” Coburn said. In retirement, Coburn is looking forward to spending more time with Laurie and his fi ve grandkids, as well as travel- ing and working on some home improvement projects. But he will greatly miss the people of Whiteaker Middle School. “Whiteaker is a big school with a small-school feeling. The community is extreme- ly supportive. People want to give. When I came here, I was the young guy on staff, and the old folks that have been here since ‘65 just took me in and it was like a home. Everybody just took care of everybody,” Coburn said. “Even though the staff has changed, we still take care of each other. It’s just fun to be here. I love coming to work every day. The place will carry on, but I hope that I have done some things that people will feel good about.” Coburn Experience Our Proven Shoe Fitting Process SUPERIOR PRODUCTS AND KNOWLEDGEABLE STAFF @SalemRunning /SalemsRunningStore /ActiveSalem 135 Commercial NE Downtown Salem 503.364.4198 Redeemable at: 6025 Keizer Station Blvd NE, Keizer 4880 River Road NE, Keizer Valid only at participating Salem-Keizer McDonald’s ® locations. Prices may vary. Not valid with any other offer, discount, coupon, or combo meal. Cash value 1/20 of 1 cent. Limit one coupon per person per visit. Tax may apply. Price of required purchase posted on menu board. Coupon may not be transferred, auctioned, sold, copied, or duplicated in any way or transmitted via electronic media. Valid when product served. 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