Shorewood Names Sherry To Coach Football Program

Michael Sherry will face the challenge of turning around the Shorewood High School football team by challenging his players.

Sherry, defensive coordinator for the Thunderbirds last season, was named head coach yesterday.

He replaced Mark Kreutz, who resigned after five years. Shorewood was 0-9 last season.

"It's a matter of energy and making things happen with the kids," said Sherry, a security monitor at Shorewood. "And I believe the kids will respond. I'm going to challenge them and really motivate them."

Before coming to Shorewood, Sherry, 33, was head coach at Einstein Middle School in the Shoreline School District for one season. Sherry's also been an assistant coach at Mount Vernon (three years) and Sequim High Schools (four years).

Sherry was among four finalists, Shorewood principal Rick Robbins said.

"The best thing about Michael is his enthusiasm, his energy, his positive approach to solving problems," Robbins said. "He has wonderful human-relation skills."

Sherry is a 1980 graduate of Sequim, and was a fullback at Wenatchee Community College and Central Washington University.

"I'm extremely excited," Sherry said. "I'm really fired up, just to take on the task. It's going to be a good challenge, but one that I think has a lot of potential."

Sherry said he plans to take an active part in Shorewood's year-around conditioning program, especially summer weight lifting. He plans to work out alongside his players.

Sherry said he hopes to model his program after Shorecrest's, which has flourished since Tim Yeomans, another coach known for his energy, was hired three seasons ago.

"Working toward common goals, things like that, will make things come together," Sherry said. "We're right on the edge of having something really good happen, so I'm excited and I hope it will fire the kids up."