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Leaving a legacy of defense and hard work
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| H&N photo by Todd E. Swenson Lost River boys basketball coach Ray Struve rallies his troops during a game earlier this season. Struve will retire after this season. |
March 5, 2007
Ray Struve began his boys basketball head coaching career at Yoncalla High School, where he instantly adopted a hands-on approach to teaching and coaching.
“We had a reunion about three years ago, and I had a player I had to wake up every morning, and take him to school, to make sure he went to school and graduated,” he said. “He told me (at the reunion) the only reason he graduated was because of that.”
Thirty years later, that player is a golf pro in Arizona, and Struve is ending an illustrious career.
The Bonanza graduate sent Yoncalla to the state tournament final site in Pendleton, then he moved back into the Klamath County School District for 29 years, spending the last 24 at Lost River. Every year, Struve learned something new about the sport.
“You think you know the game so much until you start coaching as a head coach. The kids teach you so much about how to deal with people, how to get the kids to play hard, how to press their buttons,” Struve said. “Anybody can coach X's and O's, but if the kids don't play hard, it ain't gonna work.”
Few teams, under any coach, played as hard as Struve's Raiders this season. Lost River was just 2-8 in Southern Cascade League play, including a pair of one-point losses to Lakeview and a three-point loss to Class 2A state runner-up St. Mary's, but Struve never had to question his team's effort.
Potential obtained
“The part I enjoy most about coaching is getting kids to play to their full potential,” he said. “They came out and bought into the program, and they played hard every night. They didn't quit. To me, that's the most rewarding part of the year. “
Lost River finished fifth in the six-team SCL and ended its season with a league playoff loss to Lakeview, but their work ethic showed on defense, where Struve said he had one of his best teams.
“This year, this bunch of kids played as hard as anybody I've ever had,” he said. “I think these kids moved up a notch at the end of the year. They never brought anything home.
“To me, that's coaching.”
Thrill of the tourney
Another thrill for Struve was going to Pendleton for the state championships, which he did eight times. His first trip was with Yoncalla, and he followed with seven trips at Lost River, including six consecutive appearances in the mid-to-late 1990s.
“The thrill of taking a team to Pendleton sticks with you forever,” Struve said. “The atmosphere for the kids, the camaraderie with the other teams, knowing you're one of the best in the state, that's everybody's goal. To reach that goal and realize that dream is hard to explain, for the coaches and the kids.”
Struve was able to share that dream with his sons, Jevon and Lawson, when they donned the Raiders' black and gold. Coaching his children, Struve said, had both its benefits and drawbacks.
“It's kind of a double sword,” he said. “It's exciting watching your kids play, and it's exciting to coach them, but it's also a coach's nightmare at times, because am I being fair with my kids? Am I treating everyone the same? Luckily, I had two assistants who made sure I was being fair.”
Being fair wasn't too tough for Struve, because his boys had talent. Jevon eventually played at Western Oregon and Oregon Tech, where he played on NAIA Division II national tournament teams in 2000 and 2001.
An easy decision
“They were both good enough so there wasn't a question whether they should be playing,” Struve said. “They know what you want, and you know what they can do, so that makes it even more exciting.”
Though his coaching career is over, Struve still has an opportunity to influence students as a physical education teacher until the end of the school year, when he will retire to his home in Bonanza. In his early years, Struve also taught history, literature, and arts and crafts.
“I've always enjoyed coaching, and I enjoyed the coaching more than the teaching at first. Then, I learned to love both of them,” he said. “The kids keep you young. The camaraderie with them, trying to get them to do the right things, it's one of the few places that kids get those skills.
“That part I'm gonna miss.”
- Josh Petrie
Ray Struve began his boys basketball head coaching career at Yoncalla High School, where he instantly adopted a hands-on approach to teaching and coaching.
“We had a reunion about three years ago, and I had a player I had to wake up every morning, and take him to school, to make sure he went to school and graduated,” he said. “He told me (at the reunion) the only reason he graduated was because of that.”
Thirty years later, that player is a golf pro in Arizona, and Struve is ending an illustrious career.
The Bonanza graduate sent Yoncalla to the state tournament final site in Pendleton, then he moved back into the Klamath County School District for 29 years, spending the last 24 at Lost River. Every year, Struve learned something new about the sport.
“You think you know the game so much until you start coaching as a head coach. The kids teach you so much about how to deal with people, how to get the kids to play hard, how to press their buttons,” Struve said. “Anybody can coach X's and O's, but if the kids don't play hard, it ain't gonna work.”
Few teams, under any coach, played as hard as Struve's Raiders this season. Lost River was just 2-8 in Southern Cascade League play, including a pair of one-point losses to Lakeview and a three-point loss to Class 2A state runner-up St. Mary's, but Struve never had to question his team's effort.
Potential obtained
“The part I enjoy most about coaching is getting kids to play to their full potential,” he said. “They came out and bought into the program, and they played hard every night. They didn't quit. To me, that's the most rewarding part of the year. “
Lost River finished fifth in the six-team SCL and ended its season with a league playoff loss to Lakeview, but their work ethic showed on defense, where Struve said he had one of his best teams.
“This year, this bunch of kids played as hard as anybody I've ever had,” he said. “I think these kids moved up a notch at the end of the year. They never brought anything home.
“To me, that's coaching.”
Thrill of the tourney
Another thrill for Struve was going to Pendleton for the state championships, which he did eight times. His first trip was with Yoncalla, and he followed with seven trips at Lost River, including six consecutive appearances in the mid-to-late 1990s.
“The thrill of taking a team to Pendleton sticks with you forever,” Struve said. “The atmosphere for the kids, the camaraderie with the other teams, knowing you're one of the best in the state, that's everybody's goal. To reach that goal and realize that dream is hard to explain, for the coaches and the kids.”
Struve was able to share that dream with his sons, Jevon and Lawson, when they donned the Raiders' black and gold. Coaching his children, Struve said, had both its benefits and drawbacks.
“It's kind of a double sword,” he said. “It's exciting watching your kids play, and it's exciting to coach them, but it's also a coach's nightmare at times, because am I being fair with my kids? Am I treating everyone the same? Luckily, I had two assistants who made sure I was being fair.”
Being fair wasn't too tough for Struve, because his boys had talent. Jevon eventually played at Western Oregon and Oregon Tech, where he played on NAIA Division II national tournament teams in 2000 and 2001.
An easy decision
“They were both good enough so there wasn't a question whether they should be playing,” Struve said. “They know what you want, and you know what they can do, so that makes it even more exciting.”
Though his coaching career is over, Struve still has an opportunity to influence students as a physical education teacher until the end of the school year, when he will retire to his home in Bonanza. In his early years, Struve also taught history, literature, and arts and crafts.
“I've always enjoyed coaching, and I enjoyed the coaching more than the teaching at first. Then, I learned to love both of them,” he said. “The kids keep you young. The camaraderie with them, trying to get them to do the right things, it's one of the few places that kids get those skills.
“That part I'm gonna miss.”
- Josh Petrie
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| Since recovering from near-fatal injuries, Moose the dog is helping patients in Cedarville heal | One night in March gone terribly wrong |
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leesa wrote on Jan 23, 2009 12:37 PM:
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samantha r. wrote on Sep 23, 2008 12:12 PM:
" this article is So true when your a teen girl and your pregnant It seems to feel like your life is over and there is no way you can fix it but that's not true if your young and your going to have a child then stay focused in school your child wants you to succeed in life so he/she can succeed in life my name is Samantha R. I'm 14 years old i live in Klamath falls and i might be pregnant :] If so I'm determined to make sure my child has a better life then i did :] "
Babe wrote on Jan 23, 2008 6:54 PM:
" I think that chiloquin people do need help and not just the teens but i have also seen places that are alot worse i moved from L.A to chiloquin and ive been back there since and trust me chiloquin is nothing. I also think that crime and drugs etc. are noticed more because it is so small compared to other places and there is no form of disaplin at all "
Tony P. wrote on Jan 19, 2008 7:55 PM:
" I remember the night the plane went down.. My mother crying and my dad in tears.. his dad searched for him for years...
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Jane D. wrote on Apr 10, 2009 12:00 AM:
I Love You Bobby
May your soul Rest In Peace
-Deems "