High Standards Don't Scare New Girls Coach At Foster

TUKWILA - Julie Roscher realizes the enormity of her task.

And she relishes it.

A newcomer to the head-coaching ranks, Roscher succeeds Tim Parker as girls basketball coach at Foster High School, one of the state's top Class A programs.

Parker's 20-year record at Foster was 380-91, including a 21-4 campaign last winter, his 13th 20-win season. Parker, 47, citing a desire for change, resigned last spring.

Roscher, 23, has been assistant girls coach at Tacoma's Washington High School the past two seasons. A graduate of Riverside High School near Spokane, she played two years at Bellevue Community College and one at Pacific Lutheran University before pursuing a coaching career. She helped a struggling Washington High program turn the corner and was 14-3 with the junior varsity last season.

"She's got a lot of energy and she's a really strong person," said Gary Luft, Foster athletic director. "I think she's got the ability and knowledge to keep our program at the level it's been and continue the kind of tradition we've had. . . . She's not going to be a mirror of Tim Parker. She wants to establish her own identity."

Roscher agrees.

"I see myself as that type of person," she said. "Obviously, some of the things that have been going on in the program are great, and I don't want to take away from that. But allow me to show my stuff and enjoy the same success or maybe even take the program a little further."

Roscher knows she'll face high expectations.

"There definitely is pressure," she said. "Tim has done a great job. . . . I'm going into this with my eyes wide open. People are going to go, `Whoa! This is different. This isn't Tim sitting there.' But people are going to find an approachable person who has a lot of knowledge in the sport. I've been playing it all my life."