Coupeville High School girls hoops coach Scott Fox (back) swaps tales with Whidbey News-Times Sports Editor Jim Waller. (Photos by JohnsPhotos.net)
Waller discusses strategy with Wolf hoops guru David King.
The elder statesman of Whidbey Island sports journalism is leaving the building.
And the state.
Jim Waller, my Oak Harbor High School journalism teacher, and the man most responsible for my writing “career,” retires in two weeks.
His last day at the Whidbey News-Times is December 18.
After that, the lifelong Whidbey resident and his wife are moving to North Carolina to be closer to their sons and their families.
Waller has been at the core of Whidbey Island sports since his birth, as a player, teacher, coach, and writer.
He was born into the life, one of the sons of revered local coach Mert Waller, who led four Coupeville High School sports programs (football, basketball, baseball, and track), before moving to similar positions in Oak Harbor.
Jim Waller was a standout prep athlete at OHHS, who returned to teach and coach multiple sports at his alma mater.
Of the two people actively writing about sports on Whidbey, he is the only one to be a member of a real Hall of Fame, honored in 2001 by the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Waller led the OHHS baseball program for 30 years, taking the Wildcats to the Class 3A state title game.
A graduate of the University of Washington, he was in his second go-round with Whidbey’s newspapers.
Waller first wrote for the News-Times as a youngster, then returned to the post after retiring from the Oak Harbor School District.
As he prepares to depart, several Coupeville coaches, past and present, offered their thoughts on the easy-going legend.
Mike Etzell:
He is quality, character, with a twinkle in his eye, and one of the constants on fields/courts across Whidbey.
Scott Fox:
I was fortunate to meet Jim this past year as it was my first year as a head coach and little did I know it would be his last as a sports writer.
The one word that comes to mind when I think of Jim is dedication. Jim is the guy who loved what he did and it showed.
We had some great conversations about Coupeville sports and how they have evolved throughout the years.
His enthusiasm for local sports and working with kids really comes through starting with his coaching for many years to now covering them as a newspaper journalist.
He always approached his job as a sports writer with the utmost professionalism and I really enjoyed our post game conversations.
We are losing a local legend in the sports world but at the same time I am happy for him in retirement and being able to spend more time with his family.
He is a great guy and will be truly missed!
David King:
I’ve known Jim since 1982 or 1983 when he was teaching and coaching at Oak Harbor. At the time I was just finishing high school.
Sadly I didn’t play baseball for him.
I really got to know Jim on the basketball court.
Back in the ’80s and into the ’90s the teachers from Oak Harbor would get together on Sunday evenings and play. I was lucky enough to have an invite and played.
Back then on the basketball court, Jim wasn’t flashy, but he seemed to always make the right plays or be in the right spot.
What I should have realized then, but came to realize later in life, Jim was a student of the game.
That goes for basketball, baseball and softball. I’m sure other sports as well.
Fast forward to my time coaching softball and basketball. During this time Jim was the sports guy for the Whidbey News-Times.
Many times after a home game, we would talk stats and sports article material that he could use.
Then he and I would talk the in-depth details.
I could sit and talk these details with Jim any day of the week. The X’s and O’s.
He was able to see things a normal fan or parent may not recognize.
Early on, he wouldn’t push his thoughts, but asked questions based off of what he saw during the games.
As the years went on, the conversations evolved, more open and we actually would talk strategies and Jim would share his experiences and still ask why certain things happened like they did.
Because he is a student of the game and a successful coach, these conversations helped me as a coach.
I believe he and I would see the same things, his experiences I could relate to.
And I feel like I was doing the right things as a coach and for the teams based off of our conversations.
After Amy and I got out of coaching I found I missed the conversations and interaction with Jim.
He is someone I respect and I’m grateful for the friendship that evolved over time.
Brad Sherman:
I’ve always really enjoyed getting to chat with Jim after games.
He knows the game well, knows our athletes, and is really skilled in the way he recaps games.
I think the sports community in Coupeville is very lucky to have had Jim covering our teams.
Over the years he’s taken the time to spotlight certain kids who have worked extremely hard to get where they are, or community members that have given so much to our programs.
He truly is a class act. We will certainly miss him!
With that said, I wish him the best in his well-deserved retirement, and hope to still see him up in the stands at a few games in the future.
Willie Smith:
Personally, as a baseball coach, there were few coaches that I ever really strived to have a “Your program is going in the right direction or your kids really seem to understand the game and play hard every single day” type of a comment from, and, along with Stan Taloff, Jim was always one of those guys.
His knowledge of the game and his willingness to share, first while he was coaching, then as a reporter, was always welcomed by me.
It was great listening to his stories and experiences in his 30+ years career and I certainly appreciated the moments that he and I just got to visit about everything around athletics.
I was also very fortunate to have him open up the summer baseball program to the Coupeville kids, which, for me, was a bit of an arrival moment for me in the world of coaching.
Both of my sons got to play for Jim and they had such a positive, fun experience with him and his players (and I got to just sit back and just watch them play, which was really fun!).
Jim has always been a man of high integrity, has had great insight, truly loved coaching and being around the players and I would hope that when I retire, I can be half of what Jim has been!
