A new day is dawning for South Whidbey High School boys basketball.
Chris Ferrier has been named to replace coach Scott Collins, who left the program after two years because he was tired of the commute from Oak Harbor during the winter season.
That won’t be a problem with Ferrier, who now lives in Greenbank and is thrilled to be a Falcon, as his new e-mail address clearly shows — swfalconhoops@gmail.com.
Ferrier, 30, discovered the job online. He responded to an Internet ad posted by athletic director John Patton.
Apart from coaching, Ferrier has registered as a substitute teacher with the South Whidbey School District and hopes to spend some quality time with his potential players.
“But I’ll go wherever I’m needed, though I have hopes of getting a full-time position as a teacher,” he said Wednesday.
Ferrier grew up in Elma, a small town in the Chehalis River Valley west of Olympia. After high school, he went to Central Washington University and received a bachelor’s degree in health and fitness in 2004.
Coaching has been Ferrier’s passion for 10 years, first as a volunteer with the Elma Eagles, then as an assistant in Ellensburg before taking over the Thorp High School Tigers and taking them to the playoffs for two years.
He then took over the struggling girls basketball program at Spanaway High School. The first year was a rebuilding season, but he managed to take the Lady Sentinels to the playoffs the second year.
No rebuilding is needed on South Whidbey. The Falcons posted a winning 25-19 overall record during Collins’ tenure, including a spot in the playoffs. Before his arrival, the boys went 6-14.
“Scott did a great job,” Ferrier said. “The kids are fundamentally sound and it’s going to be my job to take them even farther. I’ll be taking stock of their individual and collective abilities.”
He was impressed by the 15 players who showed up for a mini-camp in late July, during the height of the heat wave.
“We were in the gym and it was hot, but they stuck it out,” he said. “It was a fine introduction. We spent the time on ball- handling and shooting. It was a great experience for me, and I liked what I saw.”
His vision for the program goes beyond the court.
“I think part of my job is preparing kids on how to deal with the next level of their lives,” Ferrier said. “How to function in a group setting, accountability for their actions, making the right choices, time management — real important on an island — and all the other things we as teachers and coaches can do to help them be successful beyond high school.”
Ferrier is a self-described offensive kind of guy.
“The object of the game is to score more points than the other guy,” he said.
“OK, that may sound obvious, but some teams forget that winning comes when you do all the little things right. The defense will come later.”
Ferrier grew up in a small town and feels like he’s gone back to his roots.
“This area is about the same size as Elma, with the same friendly people and pace of life,” he said. “I’m going to like it here.”
Patton hopes that’s the case, because stability at the head coach level is usually the key to a solid, winning program.
“Chris lives for the game, and he was the best candidate,” Patton said. “He’s really in tune with basketball state-wide, is knowledable, well-organized and has a coaching philosophy perfectly in sync with our program. He believes in the pressure defense and scoring lots of points.
“I feel very fortunate to have someone of his caliber at South Whidbey.”
Jeff VanDerford can be reached at 221-5300 or sports@southwhidbeyrecord.com.
