Four Whatcom County prep basketball coaches have either been let go or resigned since the conclusion of the winter season.
Gracie Phelps (Blaine girls), Vic Wolffis (Lynden girls), Jason Owens (Ferndale boys) and Rich Skillman (Nooksack Valley boys) will not return to their previous programs.
Phelps, a former Western Washington University basketball player, is the only one of the four leaving on her own accord, stepping down after just one season coaching the Borderites.
Owens, Skillman and Wolffis were each pushed to resign or were removed by administration.
Vic Wolffis, Lynden
Lynden head coach Vic Wolffis yells instructions to his team Feb. 14 during a 2A District 1 semifinal game versus Sehome. Wolffis resigned after just two seasons with Lynden.
(Andy Bronson/Cascadia Daily News)
Wolffis led Lynden girls basketball for two seasons, compiling a 36-13 record that included a 2A District 1 championship last season and state tournament berths both years.
He resigned after meeting with Lynden Athletic Director Mike McKee to discuss a “very negative climate that existed amongst some of our fan base,” Wolffis said in a prepared statement.
“Choosing to leave the Lynden girls was both difficult and easy,” Wolffis said. “The short, simple answer is that it became painfully clear to me that the values and principles of some ‘squeaky wheels’ around our program were simply too inconsistent with the principles and values of our actual program. The two could not co-exist peacefully.”
Wolffis added when he was hired, he was told the first year “will be a challenge,” but his coaching evaluation at the end of that season was “excellent across the board.” Wolffis did note he was aware of some dissent regarding playing time and bench rotation decisions.
McKee told Wolffis the negative climate concerns were brought forward immediately following Lynden’s 33-31 elimination loss to Othello in the 2A state tournament March 1, Wolffis said, and he resigned during the meeting.
“I definitely wanted to coach the girls that were coming through,” Wolffis said. “I definitely still loved the game of basketball. And I definitely loved coaching at Lynden up to that point. I certainly encountered a high number of wonderful people in our parent group, on our coaching staff, and in our fan base.”
McKee declined to comment. Lynden remains in search of a new head coach for next season.
Jason Owens, Ferndale
Owens led Ferndale boys basketball as head coach beginning in 2015, and was an assistant with the team for four years prior. He has coached in Whatcom County for 25 years.
The Golden Eagles were 72-86 during Owens’ tenure, with many of those losses coming during last season’s 1-19 team that had one returning varsity player.
In a letter sent to parents, Ferndale Athletic Director Eric Tripp said the school had “decided to go in a new direction.”
“We are grateful for his commitment to Ferndale High School boys basketball during his time with the program,” Tripp said.
Owens said he was never given a coaching evaluation during his tenure and was not given a reason for the decision.
He was voted the Northwest Conference Coach of the Year in the 2017–18 season by other coaches in the league, and he took Ferndale to the state tournament in 2021–22 for the first time in 26 years.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been a small part of the Ferndale boys basketball program over the last 12 years,” Owens said in a prepared statement. “Although I disagree with the decision to let me go and am still waiting for the reason why, it has been an honor and privilege to lead the program. I’m also grateful for all the assistant coaches who, in part-time positions, have helped create a positive culture of accountability and caring as a model for young men to build on in their personal lives.”
Owens added that he was “humbled” by the former “players, parents and coaches who have reached out to show their support” following his removal.
Gracie Phelps, Blaine
Gracie Phelps (22), formerly Castaneda, was a sixth-year senior for the Western women’s basketball team during the 2021-22 season. Phelps is leaving the head coaching position with Blaine girls basketball after one season.
(Photo courtesy WWU Athletics)
Phelps is leaving Blaine girls basketball following one season with the team in which the Borderites finished 4-18 overall.
“The biggest and only factor that went into this decision was our family,” Phelps said in a prepared statement. “We always knew our long-term goal was to go back to the other side of the state (which is where my husband is from), so we could be close to his family. Plus we were ready to be out of [the] Whatcom county area just for a change, since we’d been here for 7 years going to school [at Western].”
Phelps was hired as the coach at Blaine following a six-year basketball career at Western from 2016–22. She was named the 2023 NCAA Inspiration Award winner in December 2022, and will be continuing to teach and coach.
“With these opportunities, we decided that the time must be right for us to get back over there,” Phelps said. “My decision had nothing to do with the team, the community at Blaine, or anyone besides family. I feel very fortunate to have had my first experience coaching high school with the group of girls that I did.”
Rich Skillman, Nooksack Valley
Skillman was asked to step down after leading Nooksack Valley’s boys basketball program since 2016.
A former player for the Pioneers, Skillman compiled a 44-79 overall record in his six seasons as the team’s head coach.
The Nooksack Valley School District released a statement on Feb. 21 announcing the change, stating the district “has decided to ask head coach Rich Skillman to step down from his role as NV Schools looks to move the program in a new direction,” following an end-of-season evaluation.
“The district greatly appreciates Skillman’s commitment to the student-athletes for the past seven years and remains excited to have him continue to serve as a strong member of the physical education team and as a leader in various roles at Nooksack Valley Middle School,” the statement said.
Skillman said he is “saddened and hurt” by the decision and was looking forward to working with the team going forward.
“It has been difficult to give up a passion and love that my family and I have sacrificed so much for,” Skillman said in a prepared statement. “While difficult to move on, it was great to give back to the program that helped shape me as a player and person. I wish the boys at Nooksack the best of luck.”
The district announced on April 3 it had hired Jason Heutink to replace Skillman as the team’s head coach.
