Prep Flashback: Career path leads Porter back to Lakeside
Athlete: Doug Porter, Lakeside, Class of 1980
Sports: Track and field, football
High-school rewind: Won back-to-back state pole-vault titles in 1979 and '80 and was two-way football star as quarterback and defensive back. Holds or shares every school passing record. Seattle Times' Star Times all-area quarterback in 1979, and set school record by intercepting 11 passes that season. Also played basketball, and was one of the Metro League's leading scorer as senior.
After high school: After one year at University of Washington, Porter transferred to Occidental College in Los Angeles, where he was an eight-time All-American in track and field. Won NCAA Division III decathlon titles in 1983 and '84, and pole-vault title in '83. Holds school decathlon record with 7,316 points. Also played quarterback, safety in football.
After athletics: After graduating from Occidental in 1985 and spending a year in Santa Barbara training in the decathlon, Porter took a graduate-assistant coaching job at Cal.
In 1989, he moved back to Seattle and took a part-time teaching and coaching job at Lakeside while attending graduate school at Seattle University. When he was offered a full-time job at Lakeside, he took it. He is now in his 18th year teaching at his alma mater, and is track and field coach and football defensive coordinator.
Thanks to the fundraising efforts of Doug's father, Tom, the school's track facility, refurbished in 2001, bears the Porter name.
Personal: Porter, 44, is divorced and has an 8-year-old son, Race.
Fast forward: After graduating from Lakeside in 1980, Porter never figured he'd spend most of his adult life on the same campus.
"The funny thing is, I never intended on being a teacher," said Porter. "Once I started teaching here I fell in love with teaching, and at that point I said, 'This is what I do, this is who I am and I'll be here forever if they'll have me.' I look at what I'm doing now, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else and having as much fun."
John Boyle
