When next season’s Pagosa Springs Pirate basketball teams take to the court, for the first time in decades, Wes Lewis will not be coaching any of the teams.
Lewis’ retirement from coaching — which was commemorated by the Archuleta School District Board of Education earlier this month — closes a 29-year chapter of his book.
“It wasn’t easy, but I just really felt like it was time,” Lewis said of making the decision to step away from coaching.
Lewis will step away with decades of memories, among them coaching a team to a state championship and being able to coach his two children in high school.
He’ll also step away having left his mark on Pagosa Springs basketball.
“It’s been an honor and pleasure to watch Wes throughout his high school coaching career,” Pagosa Springs High School (PSHS) Principal Sean O’Donnell wrote in an email to The SUN. “His passion for Pagosa Springs athletics and especially basketball will be sorely missed.”
From player to coach
Lewis, a PSHS graduate, grew up playing basketball and developed a passion for it.
In his first years of high school, he thought he would one day be a history teacher and coach.
“I just always enjoyed trying to figure out what the other team was going to do, and different strategies and philosophies,” Lewis said.
In high school, if the team had a night off, Lewis explained, he would jump in the Suburban with coach Bunk Preuit and head off to watch and scout the team’s upcoming opponents.
“I really just started developing an interest in seeing what they were going to do and how we were going to attack it, and what we were going to do to try to counter some of the stuff they were going to try to do,” he added. “I just took an interest at a young age.”
While Lewis only did one year of college before deciding it and teaching weren’t in his future, he quickly found out coaching was.
“I was able to get into coaching anyway, so that was a blessing,” he said.
Just two years after graduating, Lewis joined the PSHS coaching staff as the C team coach.
One practice into his time as C team coach, Preuit made the decision to make Lewis the JV coach and have the other coach oversee the C team.
“I thought that was a real feather in my cap,” Lewis said of his being “catapulted” into coaching the JV.
That left Lewis coaching players he’d previously played with while he was in high school.
“They were sophomores when I was a senior and here a couple years later I was the assistant coach, JV coach, so that was kind of interesting,” Lewis said.
Lewis coached with Preuit for one year before Preuit retired from coaching. Preuit’s high school coaching career spanned more than 20 years.
Around the time Preuit retired from coaching, Lewis resigned from coaching the high school JV and instead took on coaching the junior high’s boys’ team, where he stayed for several seasons.
“That was a real good learning experience to be a head coach down there,” Lewis said.
He noted he had to design practice schedules, start making the decisions on what would be done as a program, and was determining and developing offenses, defenses, in-bound plays and more.
“That was a great experience for me to be able to be that junior high head coach,” he said.
After that had “run it’s course,” Lewis noted the high school had a new boys’ head coach, Jim Shaffer, with Lewis going back to the high school to serve as the coach for the JV boys for a few years.
Lewis then made the leap to varsity.
When Bob Lynch resigned from coaching the girls’ varsity team, Lewis applied for it and was hired in 2007.
“Obviously, I did that for 13 years,” Lewis said.
That ultimately allowed him to coach several family members, including nieces and his daughter.
When his daughter graduated, Lewis noted he thought he might be done.
He explained that, around the same time, the boys’ coach, Randy Sorensen, was on the fence about whether or not he would return to coach another year.
“I really was trying to talk him into staying and I was going to be either a volunteer assistant or help him scout, or just sit in the stands,” Lewis said.
Sorensen, however, opted to resign, with Lewis then applying and being hired to coach the boys’ varsity, where he coached his final five years.
That also allowed Lewis to coach his nephew and his son, who graduated in May.
Lewis’ resignation was made public late in the school year, with the longtime coach indicating he knows it’s the right time to step away.
He noted he doesn’t have the same energy he had 10 years ago to balance the demands of coaching, managing his businesses and managing his personal life.
He added his son will also be rodeoing in college, and he wants the freedom and flexibility to support him.
He also suggested everyone has to know when it’s the right time to step away.
“It’s time for a new voice, it really is,” he said.
But, he noted, he’s “going to miss so many things.”
He added, “I really love the competitive games, the trying to outwit the next guy and make adjustments and counter what they’re doing. I’m going to miss all that greatly.”
What Lewis won’t miss, he indicated, are the long bus rides and the late practices.
Coaching to win
Lewis leaves behind a 336-94 record in 18 years of coaching at PSHS, according to PSHS Athletic Director Chantelle Jordan.
Over those 18 years, Lewis’ teams made the playoffs 16 years, advanced to the Great 8 10 times, earned their way to the Final Four six times, made two championship games and brought home one state title.
“I have always said, ‘If the kids will listen to Coach Lewis, he will coach them to the win,’” Jordan wrote in an email to The SUN. “What makes Wes exceptional is his intuition during those crucial moments. I’ve watched him turn challenging situations into victories time and again. He brought not only an impressive basketball IQ to our program, but also a remarkable sensitivity to each player’s needs. That’s his real gift—knowing precisely when a player needs to be challenged and when they need encouragement. This certainly doesn’t take away from him knowing the game of basketball itself. Wes has an extraordinary understanding of the game and can get his athletes to execute when it matters most.”
“It’s easy to point to the number of times he had his teams in Denver in the quarterfinals, semi-finals, finals, and the State Championship in 2015, but I think the highlight of knowing and being around Wes for all of it was his willingness to accept the results,” O’Donnell wrote. “I never once heard him make an excuse for a loss, but rather he would talk about all the ways he could have been better or done something differently to give his kids a chance to win.”
O’Donnell also indicates Lewis never gave up during games.
“In watching Wes over his years of coaching, I have always been impressed in the way he coaches till the very end of every game,” he wrote. “Whether we were ahead by 30 or behind with little chance of winning, regardless of who was on the floor, Wes coached his kids all the way until the final buzzer went off.”
Lasting memories
Lewis’ ability to coach teams to win and coach to the end allowed him and his teams to make lasting memories.
“You can’t top the state championship,” Lewis said of the Lady Pirates’ 2015 title. “That was a ride in itself and just quite a journey.”
He added, “We had a lot of really good girls’ teams,” pointing in particular to the years before and after the state championship.
Over those three years, the team lost a total of two games.
Lewis also noted that, while the Lady Pirates won the state title in 2015, he feels like they could have also won the year before against Holy Family.
“We were up by seven at halftime in the state championship game,” Lewis recalled, remembering controversial calls that helped shift momentum and give Holy Family the win.
Lewis also recalled 2016, when the Lady Pirates were 23-0 and the top-ranked team heading into the state tournament.
“We had beaten Centauri three times by double digits and, lo and behold, we draw them again at the state tournament and they ended up beatin’ us by one for a chance to advance at the state championship,” he remembered. “And that was a heartbreaker, to say the least.”
He noted that, despite the loss, he was able to put that three-year span in perspective.
The former coach also listed the Pirate boys’ Great 8 appearance among his coaching highlights, noting the Pirates went 24-2 that year and, despite being a smaller 4A school, were able to compete.
Lewis added he was “very fortunate” to be able to coach his children, nieces and nephew.
“That was important,” he said, noting there was a lot of give and take. “It ain’t always easy being a coach of your kid. You catch a lot of flak and so do your kids, but ... I do think the pros outweighed the negatives, and it was a great ride for being able to share a lot of memories and things with your kids.”
Leaving a legacy
After 29 years of coaching, Lewis has left a mark on Pagosa Springs basketball.
“Wes has definitely left his mark on both the boys and girls basketball programs here at PSHS,” O’Donnell wrote. “His determination and hard work have laid a foundation and example for other coaches to follow. Besides planning practices and coaching games, there were many hours behind the scenes many did not see. His willingness to put in the time to make sure his kids had the best opportunity for success is a characteristic I see he has instilled in the other coaches he has worked with and mentored.”
“He has definitely left a mark,” coach Brandon Forster, the new head coach of the Pirate boys’ team, wrote. “[H]e has left behind something that could be considered a legacy. He not only was the boys coach and took them to the great 8, he probably leaves behind a bigger component with the girls program. He was able to make many state runs and win a championship with the girls programs. It is fun to watch the impact that he had when older players come and talk with him, listening to the stories and seeing the joy that he brought to them. This is why I hope to recreate it with my program.”
O’Donnell notes that, while Lewis may have built a reputation for his coaching style, he showed unwaivering support for his teams.
“Wes may have had a reputation of being loud, aggressive, and a little animated as a coach, but he stood up for his athletes, expected their absolute best at all times, and would go to the end of the earth for all of them,” he wrote.
“I have learned so much from Wes,” Forster wrote. “[H]e has probably forgotten more basketball than I have learned. He sees things on the court that most people miss, I have admired how he can set the tone for games, in his preparation and ability to read what the opponent is trying to do. He has become so much more for me than a coach. He is a true mentor, he is always looking for ways for people to be successful in life not just on the court.”
Passing the torch
Now, Lewis will take on a different role with respect to Pirate basketball — fan.
“I’ll be their No. 1 fan,” Lewis said, adding, “I just truly care about Pirate basketball.”
O’Donnell, who worked with Lewis as a fellow coach, then as a school administrator and a friend, points out that Lewis is a fan of more than just Pirate basketball.
“One of the things that stands out to me about Wes is his support of all Pagosa Springs Pirates athletics,” O’Donnell wrote. “He takes pride in the success of all of our programs.”
Lewis explained that he’ll try to be at as many of the games as he can and wishes the teams success.
He added he thinks the Pirates will have a good year next year.
Forster coached with Lewis for two seasons, one as the C team coach and the other as the JV coach, before being hired as the new head coach.
“I have known Wes for a long time and have been able to build more of a relationship with him within the past 5 years that I have been teaching and coaching here at Pagosa Springs,” Forster wrote.
Forster, son of David Forster, who coached the Centauri Lady Falcons against Lewis for years, added, “The greatest part for me with Coaching with Wes is definitely talking about past battles with my dad. It was fun to see the man on the other side. I gained more respect for Wes and insight from him by understanding how the battles went with [Centauri] and his thoughts on how to play against my dad’s team.”
Forster adds watching both Lewis and his dad coach showed him both contrasts and similarities.
“My father and Wes are similar in many fashions, they might contrast one another as far as style of pace and play, but the biggest thing they have in common is doing their best to put athletes in a place where they can succeed,” he wrote.
Forster also expressed appreciation.
“I just want to express my gratitude to Coach Lewis,” he wrote. “I considered myself lucky to have my dad to be an example of how to coach, but I doubled down my luck by coaching alongside someone else that showed me how to be a great coach.”
Lewis also expressed gratitude for those who coached alongside him and supported him during his coaching career.
“I’d love to thank my family, primarily my wife,” Lewis said. “There’s a lot of nights where she drove to basketball games by herself, she sat at home when I was at practice, she had to do chores, build a fire ... She spent a lot of nights alone. ... I really just want to thank her for supporting me to do this for this many years.”
Lewis added he had some really good assistants over the years.
While he noted he had too many good assistants to name, he pointed in particular to Charles Rand during his time with the Lady Pirates and Yul Wilson.
“We just worked really, really well together in my opinion and had a great relationship and became good friends,”Lewis said of Rand. “He did so much for me all those years I was the girls’ coach.”
Wilson, Lewis explained, was with him for four years at the high school, and the pair coached their boys together in the youth programs, meaning they coached together for a long time.
Lewis also thanked O’Donnell.
“We were colleagues,we coached together with Shaffer, we became really good friends, he became my boss, and he was just somebody I could always count on and lean on when I needed to. He was just a great asset for probably 27 or 26 years of my 29 years. Sean was right there through a lot of it,” he said.
Lewis also noted that Shaffer and Preuit were two big mentors for him who helped him get on a path to success.
Lewis also thanked the administration — David Hamilton, Shaffer and O’Donnell — and the school district for hiring him and giving him a chance.
“Allowing somebody who didn’t have a teacher’s certificate to be a head coach was a blessing a dream come true for somebody who didn’t go to college but was still able to fulfill his dreams of being a head coach,” Lewis said.
randi@pagosasun.com
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