H.S. Football | Prep masterminds win their own way

Three former quarterbacks with their own quirks.

Three mastermind coaches with common goals and uncommon personalities.

At one end is Tom Bainter, the pied piper. At the opposite end sits Monte Kohler, the private person. In between is Steve Gervais, somewhat a blend of the two.

They are proven winners who share a passion for the game of football and a penchant for getting the most out of their players.

"They're all top-notch guys without an ounce of ego," Bellevue coach Butch Goncharoff said. "They're all very competitive, and if you listen to their kids, their kids all believe in them."

For good reason. The three have coached their teams to unbeaten records and this weekend's state-championship games at the Tacoma Dome.

Gervais' Skyline squad plays Kohler's O'Dea team for the Class 3A title Friday at 7:30 p.m. Both are 13-0. Bainter's Bothell team, also 13-0, faces unranked Lewis and Clark of Spokane (10-2) in the Class 4A final Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

These coaches are no one-year wonders.

• Gervais, 54, has won five state championships, three with Eatonville (1985, '90 and '92) and two with Skyline (2002 and '05). In 31 seasons as a head coach at four schools, the past 10 at Skyline of Sammamish, he has 243 wins — third all-time among active coaches — against 87 losses.

• Kohler, 48, has taken O'Dea of Seattle to three titles (1991, '94 and '95). The Irish have reached at least the preliminary round of the playoffs in all but two of his 23 seasons and have never lost more than three games in one year. Kohler ranks fifth among active coaches in victories with a 223-33 record.

• Bainter, 42, is looking for his first state crown, but has the Cougars in the 4A title game for the second straight year. His 75-17 record in only eight seasons at Bothell is impressive. Including three seasons as head coach in a rebuilding project at Shorewood, Bainter is 89-30.

The former quarterbacks use different offensive schemes with dazzling results. All are devout family men and father figures to many. And all will tell you they care more about their players than winning.

Frank Naish, longtime Inglemoor coach, knows Gervais, Kohler and Bainter collectively better than most. He paints Bainter and Kohler at the opposite ends of a canvass personality-wise, with Gervais splattered in between.

"There are only so many people in the world with that really charismatic personality, and Tom is one of those guys," Naish said. "He's kind of a pied-piper kind of guy. He's an offensive [football] guy who is always changing and evolving, kind of the opposite of Monte, and his kids love to play for him.

"Monte is a little more stern, a little more like me."

And Gervais?

"I'd put him in between those two," Naish said. "He's a little more outgoing than Monte and a little more reserved than Tom.

"Here you've got three people with a spectrum of personalities who all have the ability to win with their own style. What that says to me is there is no magic formula to being a successful coach. If you coach to your style, you can be successful."

Steve Gervais: the magician

Many consider Gervais a coaching genius.

"He is the best high-school football coach in the state," Naish said, "and that's not a compliment I give out to be nice. I just believe it. He's won at all levels and he's won everywhere he's been and he wins with his own [district] kids."

Gervais, who played at Puyallup High School and Oregon State University, began his winning ways at Eatonville, where he was head coach for 16 years. After guiding the Crusaders to their third Class 1A state title in 1992, ultimately scrapping a run-oriented offense for an innovative spread scheme, he decided it was time for a new challenge. He spent two years at Gig Harbor and three at Rogers of Puyallup before coming to Skyline in 1998, the year after the school opened.

Matt Taylor, who joined the staff as an assistant the following year, describes Gervais as a relaxed man who lives up to his nickname of "never-nervous Gervais."

"He does a good job making sure every kid thinks he's as important as the starting quarterback," Taylor said.

Gervais married his high-school sweetheart, Nancy, seven years ago and the two have six children between them. Taylor said becoming a grandpa seems to have mellowed Gervais a bit.

Gervais' youngest child, Riley, is a senior on this year's team. Another son and stepson played on his 2004 team.

Monte Kohler: the master

Kohler grew up in Montana and began his coaching career at tiny Opheim High School in the Northeastern corner of Montana. His eight-man team won one game the first year and went .500 the next.

Then his former high-school coach, Bob Bartlett, who had moved to Spokane, convinced him to apply for the job at O'Dea. Kohler never envisioned staying this long. Now he can't imagine leaving.

"It's a wonderful place to be a part of," he said of the all-boys Catholic school.

How has he changed over the years?

"All the older kids say I've gotten softer, but I disagree," Kohler said. "I understand the game a little bit better. But the biggest change is it's not really about winning or losing, it's about what the game of football can bring to a young man's life."

While he is regarded by many as reserved and very private, he has a lighter side, according to Naish. The two played recreational softball together several years ago.

"He's a fun guy to be around," Naish said.

Kohler also is ultracompetitive, even on the softball field.

"He hated to lose and we used to laugh at him because he'd get so fired up," Naish said.

The biggest changes in Kohler's life have come over the past four years, since his marriage to the former Jana Sipes, Holy Names athletic director. They have two children together, 3-year-old John Edward and a 19-month-old daughter, Cody Marie. Jana also has two older children, including a 9-year-old son, Race.

"Monte adores his children and is a wonderful father," Jana said.

Watching Monte chase after the high-energy John Edward is entertaining, said longtime assistant coach Mike Crotty.

"They're good for each other," Crotty said.

Tom Bainter: the magnet

They call it the Blue Train at Bothell, and Bainter is clearly the engineer. The entire town seems to have jumped on board.

"It's just a great place," Bainter said. "The town gets excited like no other I've seen."

Bainter, with a politician's charisma, is a big part of it.

"He can walk into a room, and it's just his nature, he goes up and shakes your hand and makes you feel he cares about you," Naish said.

Bainter, who played at Evergreen High of White Center and at Western Washington, quickly followed in the footsteps of his high-school coach, Jim Fortner, joining Fortner's staff as an assistant in 1989.

He landed his first head-coaching job at Shorewood in 1997, but he and wife Kristine lived in Bothell by then and Bainter's dream was to coach and live in the same town.

Bainter and Bothell have been a fantastic fit. He has never had a losing season there and has coached the Cougars to four KingCo 4A championships.

"The rapport he has with his kids is just amazing," his wife said. "He just lives and dies with those kids, and so does our family."

The Bainters, who were high-school sweethearts, have been married for 14 years and have two sons, Owen, 9, and Erik, 7, both football players.

Three men on one mission this weekend. Three winners in life, no matter the outcome.

Sandy Ringer: 206-718-1512 or sringer@seattletimes.com

Winningest active coaches
Skyline's Steve Gervais and O'Dea's Monte Kohler are third and fifth, respectively, in victories by active state football coaches:
Coach	School	Record
1. Sid Otton*	Tumwater	300-116
2. Bob Ames	Meridian	246-114
3. Steve Gervais	Skyline	243-87
4. Tom Ingles	Puyallup	233-96
5. Monte Kohler	O'Dea	223-33
6. Tom Moore	Prosser	220-37
7. Jack McMillan	LaSalle	204-116-1
* All-time state record holder for victories