Palmer boys, girls hoops coaches resign

PALMER — Collectively, Jason Marvel and Paul Reid have more than 30 years experience coaching basketball at the high school level.

But as passionate as each is about their sport, both have families with children and professional goals off the court. Earlier this past week, each decided to step away from their respective coaching positions to create more time for their families and future endeavors within their profession.

Palmer High activities director Jeff Thiede confirmed Marvel has resigned has head coach of the PHS boys basketball program and Reid has stepped down from his position as head coach of the girls program.

“The part I’m definitely going to miss the most is the relationships you build with your student-athletes. You spend so much time with the kids, you really get to know them,” Reid said. “I felt as a coach, you can make a positive impact in their lives with the extra time you spend with the kids. But I spend more time with those kids, sometimes, than I do my own. That was part of my decision. I don’t want to look back with regret, knowing that I spent more time raising other parents’ kids than my own.”

Reid leaves with one of the longest tenures among Palmer High’s current crop of head coaches. The 1989 graduate of Palmer High capped his ninth year as head coach of the program. He started with the Palmer girls’ team as an assistant during the 1996-97 season, and was part of a coaching staff that guided the Moose to the state title game in 1997 and to a state championship in 1999.

“It’s been a great ride,” Reid said. “I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.”

Reid said this was not a sudden decision.

“It’s something that’s been on my mind for a little while,” he said. “There’s a couple of major variables.”

Reid has two children, ages 13 and 8, who are becoming active in their own activities. He said he also has career aspirations, which include pursuing a master’s degree and a future in school administration.

Reid said he appreciated the chance to end his run as head coach while sharing the bench with assistants Brandon Blake, Lyle Busbey, Shawna Thein and Toni Cox-Miller. Reid began as an assistant while Busbey was the head coach of the program, and both Thein and Cox-Miller played for Reid at PHS.

“It’s neat to have it come full-circle. I started with Lyle,” Reid said. “It was a blessing for me to have such an outstanding staff.”

Like Reid, Marvel is also trading in his clipboard for other opportunities. He has been working on his master’s degree and will finish the program in May.

“I think professionally in makes a lot of sense,” Marvel said. “Not that I’ll get a job right off the bat, but I’m preparing myself for the future.”

Marvel recently finished his fifth year as head coach of the Palmer boys’ basketball program, and ended his run on the PHS bench by leading the Moose to their first Northern Lights Conference title since 2004. Marvel also served as head of the Wasilla High basketball program for five years, leading the Warriors to multiple NLC titles and a 2007 4A state championship.

“There are two things I wanted to accomplish during my head coaching career,” Marvel said. “Win a state championship, and the other was to rebuild a program. I feel like I’ve done both.”

Meeting both of his major goals as a head coach, Marvel said it is time to pursue other opportunities outside coaching.

“I can say, absolutely, I am done as a head coach,” Marvel said. “A decade of my life I’ve devoted to the game as a head coach. It does not mean I won’t coach in some capacity.”

Marvel said he’d like to follow in the path of a local coach he has looked up to throughout his coaching career in the Valley, Roger Nelles.

“My mentor Roger Nelles taught me a lot about the game,” Marvel said. “I want to be a mentor to someone like he has been a mentor to me.”

Marvel finishes his 10 years as a Valley head coach with a 173-106 record. He led teams to a combined four NLC titles, seven appearances in the state tournament, two trips to the state title game and the 2007 4A championship. His teams had losing seasons in only two of those 10 years.

Marvel said he wanted to be a head coach again after leaving the Wasilla boys program in 2007, but is very happy with his decision to leave the head coaching position this time.

“I’m at peace,” Marvel said. “I loved Wasilla. I just love the Valley. I love the communities that are here. I feel blessed to coach at Wasilla and Palmer, two great communities that supported me 100 percent. I definitely wouldn’t have won a region championship at Palmer if I didn’t have that support. Palmer has been great to me, and I definitely think we left the program better than we found it.”

Thiede said he was disappointed, but not surprised, to see either coach step down from their positions. Thiede said he understands the desire of both to spend more time with family and move toward professional goals outside of coaching, and praised both for their time with the Palmer High programs.

“Jason has been tremendous. He brought us our first region title since 2004. That’s a feat in itself, with what he has to deal with in a very difficult Northern Lights Conference,” Thiede said. “Coach Reid makes the most of what he has with his players. He builds relationships on and off the court. That itself creates a great atmosphere.”

Thiede said both will be difficult to replace. The process to find the successors will begin in the coming weeks.

Thiede also announced an opening within Palmer’s cross-country skiing program. David Knopp has stepped down from his position as head coach, Thiede said. Thiede said Knopp filled a dire need when he took the program, and has been a great asset to the team during his tenure with the Moose. Thiede said Knopp is expected to continue helping Palmer skiers in another capacity.

“Anybody in the ski world would want to have them on their side,” Thiede said. “He definitely wants to be a part of the program, but not as the head coach. We’d like to find someone to fill his shoes, but that’s going to be very difficult. We want to get somebody in there to replace him that has a similar mindset.”

Thiede said Palmer High school will soon advertise the vacancies for all three programs.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman sports editor Jeremiah Bartz at sports@frontiersman.com.