CENTRALIA, Wash. – Coach Ron Brown, Head Boys Basketball coach at Centralia High School for the past 56 years, is retiring. Coach Brown highlights the many friendships formed with former players, opposing coaches and especially his dedicated and loyal assistant coaches. His love for teaching student athletes about basketballand most importantly about doing the right things in life on and off the court made this a very difficult decision for Coach Brown. Coach Brown ends his career with 722 wins, ranking 3 rd All-Time in the State of Washington for career coaching wins. Recognition of Coach Brown’s retirement is in the planning stages at this time. The process of hiring the next Tiger Boys Basketball Head Coach will begin immediately.
In 1959, Coach Brown became a Centralia HS Tiger and spent his first two years as an assistant coach. In 1961, Coach Brown took over the helm of the program, making this his 56 th season as head coach. During that time, Ron has coached the Tigers to two state championships (1979 & 1981), placed 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th (twice) and 8th (twice). His teams have qualified for the state tournament an additional seven times.
Coach Brown has been honored twice as Washington State Coach of the Year. In 1999, he received the National Federation of Interscholastic Coaches Association Section Eight Distinguished Service Award for Boys Basketball, representing six states. In 2006, Coach Brown was inducted into the Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.