At Lynden Christian, Coach Curt DeHaan is likely to keep winning

LYNDEN - Dairy farms stretch across the Nooksack River Valley near the Canadian border like patches on a quilt.

Curt DeHaan is in his tractor early one weekday morning, scooping up cottonseed, corn, hay and potatoes for his cows. Later, he walks by the animals as they munch on the feed and enters the milking room. Wires and buttons, switches and gadgets have replaced the hands-on approach to milking.

Yet DeHaan's approach to his other occupation, coaching girls basketball at Lynden Christian High School, has hardly changed in the 24 years he has been here.

"I'd probably like to praise my players a little more," says DeHaan, a 46-year-old farmer, teacher and coach. "They'll stop playing at some point, so I'm trying to give them life lessons they can take with them when they leave."

Time changes everything, even in sleepy Lynden, where locals have grown accustomed to the smell of manure and the scent of city-slicker tourists who come for a look at the town's rich Dutch heritage. A look at the Lync roster is like looking at an Amsterdam phone book.

And to look at DeHaan is to look at Lynden, past and present. He is a third-generation Dutch American who was born and raised in Lynden. DeHaan played for the Lynden Lions, the town's other school, in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

"Probably one of the biggest games ever that I was involved in coaching was when we played Lynden for the state championship in 1991," he says. "That was the night that if you came home No. 2, you were No. 2 in town. It was more a battle of the town than the state championship, and that was the only reason we didn't want to lose."

Despite the changing face of his hometown - with its new strip mall featuring a 24-hour supermarket on Guide Meridian Road - time has been good to DeHaan and his Lyncs, who have had winning seasons in all 20 of his years as head coach.

DeHaan, a Lync assistant for four years before taking over the program, entered the season with a record of 441-71. DeHaan's teams have been to state in 19 of his 20 seasons, have placed 18 times, been in the semifinals 16 times and have won six of Lynden Christian's eight state titles (he was an assistant for the others).

Winning with class

The saga of the hometown boy who turned into a coaching legend began with young Curt working the family's 300-acre farm. That is where DeHaan learned the value of hard work from his parents, Erwin and Hilda.

The couple worked the farm and drove school buses for the Lynden School District for extra income. Curt saw firsthand the tradition of Lynden sports while accompanying his parents on numerous sports trips to tournaments and away games.

"We had five children and a 40-cow herd, and it wasn't enough," Erwin DeHaan says. "Everybody in the family was always doing two things."

After playing for Lynden under local legend Jake Maberry, DeHaan attended Washington State. His interest in basketball remained, and he enrolled in a class called "War on the Boards" taught by Cougar icon George Raveling. During one summer, he took another coaching class from longtime Western Washington Coach Chuck Randall.

By the time DeHaan returned to Lynden in 1975 to teach vocational agriculture at Lynden Christian, the Lyncs were beginning their rise to statewide prominence under Coach Sharon Strengholt. With no immediate plans to coach, DeHaan was surprised when he was asked to assist Strengholt the following year while coaching the Lync junior varsity.

DeHaan's Lync JV was 52-4 over four years. DeHaan took over the varsity, and success quickly followed.

This year, DeHaan's Lyncs are 22-1. A 45-42 loss to Meridian last week in the district championship cost DeHaan his second undefeated season. But they are already in the Class 2A state tournament, which begins Wednesday in Yakima, and one of their victories was against Class 3A champion Meadowdale last December.

The Lyncs, a team from a 1A school playing in the 2A North Cascades Conference, take their basketball seriously. They draw as many as 1,000 fans to games.

The program is reflection of DeHaan. Nothing flashy, just results.

"He doesn't try to promote superstars," LC Athletic Director Harlan Kredit says. "He believes strongly that it is a team and not an individual. I appreciate his character and honesty. I have not had to worry about the program."

Kredit sums up DeHaan's philosophy: "Ultimately, God won't ask you if you won any state championships. He'll ask you if you did your best."

DeHaan goes further.

"We really ingrain the team concept," DeHaan says. "If we get ahead on somebody, we're going to develop other kids.

"That's really paid big dividends, because all the kids can be involved on the offensive as well as defensive end. It develops the bench, and it makes turnouts really intense because they all want to play."

During games, DeHaan is intense but not fiery. He rotates players in and out of the lineup as much as possible and saves harsh commentary for halftime or after games.

But it takes plenty of intelligence and a good memory to play for DeHaan, who calls John Wooden his coaching idol.

Lynden Christian players have to learn more than 100 set plays. "They started learning them in seventh grade," DeHaan says.

Leading scorer Tessa DeBoer, who will play at Western Washington next season, says fundamentals come first in DeHaan's system, then execution.

"It's good to have a lot of plays, so that other teams don't know what we're going to do," DeBoer says.

DeHaan's daughter, Heidi, a senior, also hopes to play basketball in college. She is leaning toward attending a small Christian school in the Midwest.

Heidi, a shooting guard who is the team's three-point specialist, is quick to dismiss any perception that her father's legacy and the expectations of going to state every year put added pressure on the Lyncs.

"We have a different perspective on stuff," she says. "It's not our lives. Even if we don't win (state), to say we won it twice was awesome."

DeHaan isn't concerned with pressure. He wins his way: by not playing favorites and keeping his team mentally sharp.

"You become your best," he says. "I'm going to be jumping on any superstar in practice as much as the last person on the bench because we want to take that person to the next level."

Back on the farm

Three Lyncs live on dairy farms, where DeHaan believes Heidi improved her strength. DeHaan has often had Heidi "out with the boys" spreading hay during the summer.

DeHaan's time on the farm, which he took over in 1991, dwindles every year, though he wants to hold on to it so he can pass ownership to his sons. Teaching and coaching basketball are becoming his primary means of satisfaction.

"My world is involved with kids from summer to November," says DeHaan, No. 2 on The Seattle Times all-century list of girls basketball coaches. "I don't think about basketball until November."

He has since changed his schedule to part-time teaching; he takes the second semester off to spend more time on the farm.

"It's a juggling act," he says. "I don't know how long I'm going to stick with it (coaching)."

Off in the distance, the cows moo softly. The river gurgles over the landscape as the bright sun smiles on the acres of pasture.

And the game with South Whidbey is in two days.

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RECORD OF SUCCESS

A season-by-season look at the Lyncs' dynasty under Coach Curt DeHaan:

Year Record LC Result

1980-81 21-5 Made Class 1A state tournament and was eliminated with two losses; won nine in a row to start the season.

1981-82 24-3 Won two games and finished sixth at state; won 17 straight from regular season into state tournament.

1982-83 24-3 Finished third in state after winning league and

district.

1983-84 23-4 Lost to Port Townsend in state final and took second.

1984-85 24-4 First in league, sixth at state; won 15 in a row to start

season.

1985-86 15-9 43-37 loss to King's in district consolation final kept Lyncs from going to state.

1986-87 22-6 A longshot coming into state, the Lyncs finished second.

1987-88 26-1 Swept through league and districts before losing overtime state semifinal to Cascade of Leavenworth. Finished third.

1988-89 24-3 Yet another third-place finish at state.

1989-90 26-1 Season-opening loss to Abbotsford, B.C., was only blemish; beat Omak 55-49 for DeHaan's first championship.

1990-91 23-3 Beat cross-town rival Lynden for second straight state title.

1991-92 24-3 Three in a row? You bet. Two of three regular-season losses to much bigger schools, Lakeside and Sehome.

1992-93 21-7 Heartbreaking 39-38 loss to Cle Elum keeps Lyncs from fourth state championship in a row.

1993-94 23-4 Third place at state.

1994-95 22-5 Sixth at state despite key injuries.

1995-96 28-0 DeHaan's first perfect season ends with state title.

1996-97 21-5 Fifth at state with three straight wins after first-round loss to Goldendale.

1997-98 24-4 Back on the title track; 45-42 win over King's gives DeHaan fifth championship.

1998-99 26-1 Final year in Class 1A, but Lyncs beat several bigger schools in regular season and coast to state title.

1999-00 22-1 Beat 3A champion Meadowdale and will appear at Class 2A state tournament this week in Yakima.

Source: Jim Carberry.