After 57 years, Cave is truly old school

Lee Cave remembers his first year as a high school coach when he took on four sports: football, basketball, baseball, and track and field at little Nespelem in northeast Washington.

Before I finished scribbling my notes, Cave said: “I bet you’re going to ask me how I accomplished that, two sports in the same season.”

Well, yeah, now that you mention it.

“Monday, Wednesday, Friday — baseball. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday — track,” he said. “Same kids, too.”

We are a long time from small town Washington, 1953.

Two sports in one season did not last long. But he remained a dedicated teacher and coach for years. He taught until the 1980s, and he has kept coaching, even after retirement. Since 2000, he has been an assistant coach with the Heritage Timberwolves. This weekend, Cave will be at the Class 4A state track and field championships, and he says it will be his final state meet as a coach.

“I’m not going to be remorseful. It’s just time for somebody else,” Cave said.

Cave has coached, or been an official, or a director — in one form or another — in track and field for 57 years.

“I hate hanging ’em up,” he said, noting that he will miss the athletes. “They are good kids. But that’s life. They deserve fresher, more up-to-date instruction. I’m far too old school.”

At 82, he is allowed to say old school and mean it.

That does not mean Cave has lost his touch.

Heritage discus thrower Zach Hall, a sophomore, was the fourth best on the team when the season started. He went into district seeded seventh, and finished second. Then, Hall ended up winning the bi-district meet this past weekend.

“That’s why you get all giddy about (coaching). Holy smokes,” Cave said.

So in Cave’s final season as a coach, he has an athlete competing at state. Even better from Cave’s point of view, there were no expectations from this athlete. Seeing those athletes excel has always made Cave proud to be a coach.

“They say you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Oh yes, you can. Give him some salt in his food along the way,” Cave said. “You can start with an absolute raw individual and help him here and there, and all of a sudden, we can make somebodies out of nobodies.”

He’s been trying to do that for years. At first, the 1946 graduate of Wenatchee High School was on the other side of Washington. Then, he found a job in Vancouver.

“That was a dream because Vancouver, year after year after year, had put out outstanding athletes,” Cave said.

He joined the staff at Hudson’s Bay High School in 1957. He moved to Fort Vancouver in 1959. And in 1962, Columbia River opened its doors, and Cave was there for 21 years before retiring.

With him all the way has been his wife, Audrey. The two were married in 1947. They also have touched dozens of present-day coaches, including two head coaches who are very special to them.

Daughter Chelinda Dettorre is the head volleyball coach at Heritage and granddaughter Cheyanne Knight is the head volleyball coach at Skyview. Other granddaughters are helping with community volleyball programs.

You don’t have to be blood to love Lee Cave. There are countless athletes who Cave coached who went on to become coaches themselves. For the most part, if you have coached for any number of years in Clark County, you’ve come across Cave somewhere.

This weekend, Cave said, will be his last official contact as a coach in the county. But he will be around. He knows he will be around.

“I’m going to try not to be a nuisance,” he said. “Yet I know I can’t stay away. I want to come back and see how these kids are doing.”

Maybe he will even remind them about his philosophy of competition.

“You’ve got to beat me. I’m not going to let you win. You’ve got to beat me. And if you do, you’re a better athlete that day,” Cave said. “But it will give me more motivation.”

Words to coach by, for 57 years.

Paul Valencia covers high school sports for The Columbian. He can be reached at 360-735-4557 or e-mail at paul.valencia@columbian.com