A year of major sports celebrations in our area, including a Super Bowl Championship and hosting the World Cup, concludes with a community celebration recognizing a local legendary coach. The naming and unveiling of Ed Pepple Court at Mercer Island High School will take place on December 18th.
This long-awaited celebration, that is open to the public, honors the career and memory of Coach Ed Pepple who remains the winningest high school basketball coach in Washington State.
In his forty-two years at the high school, Coach Pepple tallied 952 wins all the while leading his teams to four state titles, seven state championship games and twenty-three KINGCO championships.
In addition to his coaching success at the high school, Pepple is known for his Lil Dribblers youth basketball program (sixty-five years and still going) that provided area youngsters with skills for playing basketball and succeeding at life.
Pepple, who passed away in 2020, was known for his “Blueprint for Success” (see sidebar). When he retired from MIHS as a beloved coach and PE teacher in 2009, “Coach P” was chosen as the keynote speaker at the annual baccalaureate ceremonies. At that time Pepple shared some of his signature life lessons with graduating seniors.
Former players, many who have gone on to coach in a variety of settings, attest to the influence Coach Pepple had on their worldview. For them, Ed was more than a source of instruction, inspiration and at times discipline. He was also navigational system for the future.
Steve Hawes, MIHS center who went on to enjoy a successful career in the NBA remembers Coach P as one whose advice, positive attitude and humor inspired him to greatness. Quin Snyder, former MIHS guard and current head coach of the NBA Atlanta Hawks, credits Ed Pepple as impacting his life tirelessly, selflessly and compassionately.
Erik Nordstrom, co-CEO of Nordstrom, spoke for many of his peers when he recalled his coach’s influence on his life as a student and beyond. “Beside my parents, no single person has impacted me and the way I work than Coach Pepple.”
The initiative to name the MIHS basketball court after Pepple was a grassroots effort. Subsequent to Pepple’s death, former players, former students and their families voiced a desire to find a tangible way to honor the beloved coach.
Mercer Island School District board members did a rigorous review of Pepple’s career and service to the community measuring his contributions against five criteria. When the review committee unanimously acknowledged that Pepple met each of the criteria, it became obvious that naming the court in his honor was most appropriate. In March of this year, the School Board passed the resolution.
The community celebration on December 18 will precede the basketball game between Bellevue and Mercer Island and will feature a reception in the MIHS Commons. Members of the Pepple family will be in attendance as well as a host of former players, assistant coaches and community leaders. To learn more about the Community Celebration go to http://www.mercerislandbasketball.org/
Choose your friends wisely because they are like buttons on an elevator. They will either take you up or take you down.
An Excerpt of Coach P’s “Blueprint for Success” for players and everyone:
If you arrive early, you are on time. If you arrive on time, you are late.
All setbacks are temporary because obstacles are only steppingstones to success.
Accept responsibility for all your actions because excuses are for losers.
Leaders and champions are made, not born.
If you always tell the truth, there is less to remember.
It is amazing what can be accomplished when no one cares who gets the credit.
No rain means no rainbows.