MARCH 2010 – Westside Newspaper
It is a weathered and crinkly 8½ x 11 sheet of printer paper. Writing on one side. At a glance, it shows the years it has survived by the different ink color on each line – black, red, blue. The last line reads 451-172.

It is the career record list of WMS head boys basketball coach Gary Hull.

Taking him minutes to find, Hull explains his basketball coaching background while searching for what many consider a treasured piece of paper. “Maybe it’s in my other bag. It’s like a napkin, with ketchup stains on it,” he jokes.

A teacher, coach, and athletic director, Hull has called Western Mennonite School home for 24 years (literally, he lives on campus). He has a 72% career winning record, taken the WMS boys basketball team to the 2A State tournament the past seven seasons, and won second, third, fourth, and fifth place the last four years of competition.

His philosophy – play hard, play smart, play together.

Coaching a total of 29 years of basketball, Hull believes it is the help of great coaches, the belief the kids have in what he teaches, and the love of his wife in letting him coach that culminates into the secret of his success.

That is why being named Coach of the Year leaves him so humbled.

This January, Hull received word of the award in the sport of boys basketball from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association. As the Northwest Sectional Coach of the Year for the 2009 season, Hull takes it in stride, “It’s a nice honor to be nominated and recognized. I’m humbled to be considered a part of the select group.”

The NFHS is the national leadership organization for high school sports and fine arts activities. To recognize elite coaches in the Pacific Northwest, the NFHS works with the Oregon School Activities Association (OSAA) and the Oregon Athletic Coaches Association (OACA). The northwest section of the NFHS Coaches Association includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Hull will receive the award in May at the OACA Awards Night held at the University of Oregon’s Casanova Center in Eugene, Oregon.