Jamie Pancho to coach WV

Jamie Pancho knows what he’s getting into.

The newly hired West Valley girls basketball coach knows the numbers. He’s the program’s third coach in as many years. He knows the Eagles’ two seasons in the Greater Spokane League have been marked by as many victories as there have been coaches.

“I’ve seen West Valley play,” he said. “I saw them play before I had any idea there would be an opening. And I would always see them in the summer leagues while I was coaching at Priest River.”

So he knows there are no problems the Eagles face that wouldn’t be helped by adding a 6-foot post who can play with her back to the basket. But they don’t grow on trees.

What brings Pancho to West Valley is an intersection of opportunity and availability.

A 1992 Newport High grad, Pancho compiled a 115-51 record at Priest River in seven seasons — taking the Spartans to the Idaho 3A finals twice — and led Sandpoint to a 71-1 record in two years as volleyball coach, including back-to-back State 4A championships.

But for all those years, Pancho was a coach and not a teacher.

Pancho married a year after graduating from high school and worked to put his wife through school and earn a nursing degree. She returned the favor and he finished his degree at Whitworth College last year.

What West Valley had to offer, along with a basketball challenge, is a chance for Pancho to teach as well as coach.

“That’s the most important part,” he said. “I’m excited about the chance to teach.”

When it comes to basketball, Pancho has a good idea about where to start.

“I think Priest River was in a similar position when we started there,” he said. “The program had some good kids involved, but they had never been to the state tournament and they had never finished higher than third or fourth in the Intermountain League.”

What Pancho knows is that creating a winning program is as much about building chemistry as it is about building skill.

“I have a different philosophy than the previous coach — and I don’t know the previous coach and wouldn’t recognize him if I ran into him on the street,” he said. “I know he had some ideas about what he expected from players. He wanted his players to concentrate on basketball and only basketball. You couldn’t be a basketball player and be on a club volleyball team, or you could play and be a cheerleader.

“I know that there are a lot of interests out there, including basketball, and I want to encourage that. And I’m also a volleyball guy, so we can work with that.

“I know there were some kids who didn’t participate in basketball because of that. I’m hoping they want to come back and participate.”

Pancho said it is as much a priority for him to assure parents that their children are in good hands as it is to convince players that his approach is what’s best for them.

“I intend to have a good conversation with the parents, and I’ve always had an open-door policy when it comes to practice,” he said. “I encourage parents to come by the gym and watch practice for a while — see what it is we’re doing and what we’re asking their kids to do.”

And he’s already started the process of building the program.

Last year’s assistant coaches took on the responsibility of conducting summer basketball, and Pancho has been able to work with those players involved.

Pancho’s approach to the game is similar to past approaches: Focus on playing good defense and rebounding night in and night out — phases of the game that that don’t run hot and cold the way a jump shot can. His preferred offense is up-tempo and emphasizes creating a lot of shots.

“I’ve been able to talk with the kids,” he said. “Now it’s just a matter of them believing in the program.”