Baseball: At Juanita, it's now Groenen Field

KIRKLAND — The country has had seven presidents since 1972. Juanita High School has had one baseball coach in that time.

For 30 years Gary Groenen has coached varsity baseball at Juanita. More than 400 victories. Fourteen state-playoff appearances. Three titles.

And yesterday, the school did its best to say thanks by hanging a sign outside the school's new baseball field. The plaque was about 3 feet long, 2 feet wide, but the gratitude it symbolized was immeasurable as the diamond was dedicated as "Gary Groenen Field," in a ceremony that was more like a surprise party.

There were balloons, and even band members playing horns and drums before Juanita beat Bothell 3-2 in the Rebels' final game of the season.

The game was initially scheduled for Peter Kirk Park in Kirkland, but yesterday morning Juanita Athletic Director Julie Stroncek told Groenen a water pipe burst, flooding the field and forcing the site to be changed.

It was a ruse, since the plan was to dedicate the school's new field to Groenen, 64, who has taught math at Juanita since the school opened and been varsity baseball coach since its second season.

Groenen's family provided the biggest surprise, as all five of his children and six grandchildren were at the game. Oldest son Darryl drove from Wenatchee. Sons Jerry and Jeff came from California, and daughter Jill took an overnight flight from Alaska to join her twin sister Julie in a family reunion choreographed by Roxetta, who has been married to Gary for 43 years.

"When he saw Jill had come all the way from Alaska, that's when the tears started flowing," said Julie, who lives in Seattle. "I knew we had him there."

Groenen and former Newport Coach Bob Albo are the only coaches to win three state titles in the classification for the state's largest schools. Groenen's career record is 469-233.

Groenen has never had a losing KingCo record, a string that was extended yesterday when Juanita beat Bothell in the regular-season finale. The Rebels scored three runs in the first inning with only one hit and finished 9-9 in league games and 9-10 overall.

And it's a string that Groenen will try to extend next year when he returns as head coach. He considered retiring from coaching just like he has the past few years, but he's not ready. At least not yet.

"I've got at least one more year in me," he said.