Kelso School District considers renaming Lassie Beach after former fastpitch coach

Kelso teachers Justin Roberts and Joe Krieder presented a proposal to the Kelso school board Monday to rename Lassie Beach to “McMahon Field at Lassie Beach” in honor of former Kelso fastpitch coach Mike McMahon.

McMahon is a 1968 Kelso High School graduate and was head fastpitch coach from 1994 to 2011. He had 330 wins and is the only Kelso High School coach with multiple state championships, with three of the school’s seven, Roberts said. In 2010, he was inducted into the Washington State Softball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

He was affected by Parkinson’s disease in 2000 and required brain surgery in 2009 as a result, but continued to coach until 2011.

“All of us take great pride in our facilities here at Kelso,” Krieder said at Monday’s board meeting. “Our facilities are named after people that epitomize excellence, and Mike McMahon is definitely all of that.”

Roberts and Krieder, both coaches themselves, represented a 12-person recommendation committee consisting of current and retired teachers and coaches and former fastpitch players from the district.

The board plans to make a decision at the Jan. 22 meeting, allowing for a required 30-day waiting period during which community members can respond to the proposed name change.