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WEEK IN REVIEW
Friday
Trooper rear-ended by suspected drunk driver no...
Democrats split over choice for Snohomish Count...
Thanksgiving tradition flourishes at Everett ch...
Thursday


Truck crash near Marysville ties up northbound ...
When taggers strike in Everett, city picks up t...
Kids talk turkey: What Thanksgiving is all about
Wednesday
County law could change to allow guns in parks
Boy, 16, admits role in Sultan slaying of teen
Swift buses ready for fast lane
Tuesday


Father guilty of manslaughter in girl's death
Snohomish County budget passes, with a caveat
Soldier with ties to Marysville killed in Afgha...
Monday


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Inmates with mental illness bring extra costs t...
Help with heating bills late to arrive this year
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Count drags on long after the election's over
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Saturday


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Kevin Brown, Sports Editor
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Published: Friday, August 1, 2008

Coaches followed in their fathers' footsteps

While most of the kids in his neighborhood were watching Howdy Doody or cartoons, 5-year-old Dennis Erickson spent much of his free time sitting in front of a screen that provided a different kind of entertainment.

X's and O's.

As the son of a high school football coach, Erickson was learning the game by osmosis for much of his childhood. Coaching wasn't just in his blood, it was also in his childhood home.

"There's nothing else I wanted to do from as far back as I can remember," said Erickson, whose father, Robert "Pinky" Erickson, coached at Ferndale and Cascade high schools.

"When you're in the locker room as a 5-year-old, watching football film when other kids are watching other stuff on television, you feel like that's what you want to do."

Erickson is one of several sons of local coaches who learned from high-profile fathers.

Mike Price, who went on to play football alongside Erickson at Everett High School before making it as a big-time college football coach, is the son of Everett Junior College football coach Walt Price.

Hall-of-Fame high school football coach Terry Ennis learned from his father, Jim, who coached at Everett High and Everett Junior College.

Local basketball coaching legends like Norm Lowery and Marv Harshman had sons who went into the business, while current Seattle Seahawks assistant Keith Gilbertson Jr. is the son of longtime Snohomish High coach Keith Gilbertson Sr.

It's no coincidence that many of the second-generation coaches have been just as successful as their fathers.

Joe Ennis, whose grandfather (Jim) and father (Terry) are among the greatest coaches this county has ever seen, is not surprised by the number of second-generation coaches.

"You meet kids that are positively affected by your father, and you realize you can make a difference in someone's life," said Joe Ennis, a mortgage broker who got into coaching last fall as the defensive backs coach at Archbishop Murphy High School.

The Herald's countdown of the Top 25 most successful coaches in Snohomish County history already includes a father-son combo: The Gilbertsons came in at Nos. 18 and 20.

"In my case, people thought my dad was a very fine coach," said Gilbertson Jr., who is in his fourth year with the Seahawks after a short stint as head football coach at the University of Washington. "He had the respect of a lot of people in the community and in Snohomish County. At the same time, he was pretty demanding on us as kids. But he was very fair.

"I think Mike Price would say the same thing about his dad, Dennis would say it about his dad, and Terry Ennis would have said the same thing about his dad. That's part of it."

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2. Marysville accident backs up I-5 for miles
3. Democrats split over choice for Snohomish County prosecuting attorney
4. Damage persists after off-roading ban in Reiter Foothills
5. Snohomish County stores dangle discounts to grab shoppers
6. New Age of extra income
7. Thanksgiving tradition flourishes at Everett church
8. Transformed Silvertip
9. Toys that reflect racial diversity haled as ‘about time’
10. Tips for Christmas-tree buying in Snohomish County
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Archbishop Murphy takes title
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Budget numbers have official fuming
Wildcats move on to 2A semifinals
Holiday Bazaars & Fairs Calendar
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The Enterprise Online Newspaper


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