RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesJul. 30—Three Hall of Fame inductions in the span of a month would be an extraordinary accomplishment for most athletic departments.
At Colfax High School, it almost felt inevitable.
During an 11-day span in May, football coach Mike Morgan and girls basketball coach Corey Baerlocher entered their state coaches association Halls of Fame, while volleyball coach Sue Doering was inducted into the WIAA Hall of Fame.
Each built one of the state's premier programs in their respective sports. Together, they coached 23 state championship teams, hundreds of victories and generations of student-athletes.
Their names now sit alongside another pair of Colfax coaching legends who helped shape the school's athletic identity: longtime boys basketball coach Bob Bafus and former baseball coach Mike Parrish.
For decades, the small town of Colfax has produced championship football teams, dominant volleyball programs, state title-winning basketball squads and successful baseball teams. The school's status has endured through several generations of athletes and coaches, creating expectations that have become woven into the community.
Ask the coaches responsible why it has happened, and none begin by talking about trophies.
Instead, they talk about parents. They talk about kids who play three sports instead of one. They talk about coaches who stay for decades. They talk about community members filling the stands on Friday nights and Saturday afternoons. They talk about a culture that existed before they arrived and one they hope will continue long after they are gone.
"I've always said it," Baerlocher said. "The sign of a good team is instant success. But the sign of a great program is sustained excellence."
History matters
Long before Morgan won a state football championship, before Doering built one of the greatest volleyball dynasties in Washington history and before Baerlocher guided the Bulldogs to eight girls basketball titles, Colfax had already established a standard.
Much of that foundation traces back to Bob Bafus.
The longtime boys basketball coach transformed Colfax into a perennial contender and helped create expectations that winning was not an occasional achievement but something the community believed should be pursued every season.
The standard continued to grow.
Parrish led the baseball program to three state championships during a 16-year tenure. Doering won 14 state volleyball titles and finished in the top four at state for 19 consecutive seasons. Morgan coached the Bulldogs to the 2001 Class 1A football championship while reaching the state playoffs 13 times. Baerlocher guided the girls basketball program to eight state championships, including four consecutive titles from 2004-07.
"They had success prior to me, too," Doering said. "They had good coaching. So it wasn't like I just came into nothing."
That history mattered. When Doering arrived in Colfax in 1988, she wasn't introducing athletes to the idea of competing for championships. Many already understood what it looked like.
"A lot of the girls I was coaching, their parents had been on Bob Bafus' state championship teams, so they knew what it took to win a state championship," Doering said. "Success breeds itself."
As an elementary physical education teacher, she found ways to make that tradition tangible. Whenever one of her volleyball teams returned home with another state trophy, she carried it into the elementary school gymnasium so the kids could hold the trophy.
The message was simple. Championships were not reserved for someone else. They belonged to Colfax. If Colfax's championship tradition has a beginning, the coaches point to the same place. It starts with the people.
All three recent Hall of Fame inductees described a community that embraces athletics as part of the town's identity.
"You have great parents," Morgan said. "They support you. They want their kids to be successful. They're willing to make sacrifices."
Morgan spent 32 years coaching football while serving the district in various roles, including band director, athletic director, vice principal and interim principal. Those positions gave him a unique view of the community beyond the sidelines.
"You know the families. You know the grandparents. You know the brothers and sisters," Morgan said. "When you stay in a place that long, you build relationships. I think that's one of the reasons people stay."
A consistent formula
Doering coached volleyball for 29 years at Colfax. Morgan spent 32 years with the football program. Baerlocher led the girls basketball team for 18 seasons. Bafus started it all, leading the basketball program for 23 seasons. Parrish coached baseball for 16 years.
The consistency mattered. Athletes did not have to adjust to a revolving door of philosophies or expectations. Younger players entered programs that looked much like they had a decade earlier, led by coaches who already knew the families, the community and the standards.
"I don't think people realize how fortunate Colfax has been with coaching continuity," Baerlocher said. "When you have people who stay, those expectations don't change."
The coaches also wanted athletes playing as many sports as possible. In larger schools, athletes often focus on one sport throughout the year. In Colfax, coaches viewed that approach differently.
"I never wanted a basketball player," Baerlocher said. "I wanted an athlete. I'm glad they want to win. Otherwise, I'd be in the wrong place."
Football players wrestled. They ran track. They played basketball. Some of the best athletes moved from one season to the next without taking a break. Each sport made them better for the next one.
"They learned different things from different coaches," Morgan said. "That was...
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