Issaquah's Moscatel Quits Basketball Post

ISSAQUAH - Saying that coaching "had become too much of a job" and that he had grown weary of "outside interference," Sam Moscatel has resigned as boys basketball coach at Issaquah High School after seven seasons.

Moscatel, 33, coached the Indians to an 11-9 record last season, finishing fourth in the Sky Division of the KingCo 3A Conference at 6-7. His career record at Issaquah was 80-78.

"I coached because it was fun, I enjoyed it," said Moscatel, a Mercer Island graduate who joined his old school's staff as an assistant right after high school. He spent eight seasons as an Islander assistant plus another at Juanita before becoming Issaquah's head coach in 1992.

"By the end of this year, coaching had become too much of a job," Moscatel said yesterday. "Never before had coaching seemed that way to me, but times have changed. If it could go back to being about kids and talking about basketball, I would still be coaching.

"There's a lot more that goes into coaching now. There's a lot of outside interference. A lot more people want to get involved with the direction of a team. You have 12 players on your team, but you can only play five at a time, and parents aren't always understanding about the decisions you make.

"To tell you the truth, a lot of people don't have a good grasp of reality when it comes to the talent their kids possess. Some people have become more vocal in the past year. I suppose that's human nature. That's just how it works."

"I'm 33 years old, and this year I was the second-most veteran coach in the league. There's a lot of turnover in the conference. That should tell you something."

In 1996, Moscatel shared coach of the year with his mentor, Mercer Island's Ed Pepple. An incident involving alcohol and players during a December 1997 team trip to Arizona resulted in seven player suspensions and a prolonged dispute over disciplinary procedures. Moscatel pondered resignation after last season.

"That was a difficult year," Moscatel said. "Basically, I wanted to see how this year went. If it wasn't fun, I planned to take a year off to see if I wanted to continue sometime in the future."

Issaquah Athletic Director Derek Tucci said Moscatel's assistant for the past seven seasons, Jeff Patrick, is a candidate for the head coach's job. Issaquah also has openings for a wrestling coach and a girls soccer coach. When the positions are filled, Tucci, who became AD last April, will have made new hires for 10 of Issaquah's 18 head coaching positions.