Inside the Huddle

Received a voice message last night from Phil Olwell, Bremerton High School assistant boys basketball coach, who said Les Eathorne’s name had been posted above one of the entrances to the school’s gymnasium.
A few months back, Olwell and some other community members spearheaded a proposal to name the gym “Les Eathorne Gymnasium and Ken Wills Court.” They pitched the idea to the Bremerton school board, which unanimously approved the name.
Eathorne and Wills are widely considered Bremerton’s two most legendary basketball coaches, both bringing their teams to multiple state tournaments. Now their legacies will live on through the name of the gym.
I drove up to the gym Friday afternoon with a camera to scope out the new look. Here’s what I found:

The letters are big and bold, and as you can see, plastered directly above one of the main entrances. Olwell said the floor inside will be painted this summer with Ken Wills’ name. Should look pretty sharp when the project is finished.

Although there is no disputing these two coaches should be recognized, I wonder how much the gym name means to the students? How much do they know about these two coaches? Perhaps all coaches at Bremerton, from here on out, should make it a point to educate their players on who these men were and what they did for the school, their athletes and the city.

Unless the students understand the history of Bremerton basketball, the new gym name will be, well, just a name.