Community Sports

Gig Harbor girls win first game under new coach

The Gig Harbor High School girls basketball team learned Jan. 27 that the Peninsula School District placed its coaching staff — head coach Tim Olson and assistants James Bonnici and Nikki Scott — on administrative leave for the remainder of this basketball season.

The district cited an ongoing investigation in a statement on Jan. 28, declining to make any further statement about the matter.

Superintendent Krestin Bahr, district athletic director Wendy Malich and Gig Harbor principal Michele Suiter turned to a familiar face to lead the Tides for the remainder of the 2024-25 season: Former Gig Harbor girls basketball coach Dan Dizon will fill the role on an interim basis.

Dizon 58, works as the district’s executive director of human resources and has extensive basketball experience as a player and a coach.

New/old coach of the Tides

He is a basketball lifer who still plays in recreational leagues, won a 50-and-over 3-on-3 championship last summer at Spokane’s Hoopfest tournament, and has played and coached on the Gig Harbor hardwood before.

Dizon, 58, last played in the Gig Harbor gym in 1984, as the starting point guard for South Kitsap. He led his team in assists and steals in a convincing 83-66 victory over a 20-7 Gig Harbor team that would go on to finish third at the Class 2A state tournament, still the second-highest boys basketball finish in school history.

Dan Dizon will serve as coach of the Gig Harbor girls basketball team for the remainder of the season. Photo courtesy Dan Dizon

Dizon later played at Tacoma Community College for coach Ron Billings, a Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee in 1996 who had an impressive .775 winning percentage. Dizon, a reserve guard, helped the Titans win the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges title in 1986.

After earning bachelors and masters degrees from Pacific Lutheran, Dizon served as the Gig Harbor boys JV coach under head coach Lyle McIntosh. He coached many of the players who won the Class 2A state championship in 1995-96.

Dizon became the girls varsity head coach that year and led the team to back-to-back 20-win seasons, making two state tournament appearances.

Taking over on short notice

Dizon spent 30 years as a teacher and administrator in Western Washington before accepting the position as executive human resource director for PSD in 2022. Those experiences should help him communicate and empathize with 12 girls who need a new leader.

“When first meeting with the girls, it was important to learn what they felt we needed to do to help them be successful. We also wanted to have a clear understanding of all their plays so we were speaking the same language,” Dizon said. “Before we arrived at the gym, it was very clear to me that they were focused and wanted to go on playing their games. The captains had them doing their pre-game warm ups even before we entered the gym. It was definitely impressive.”

Just a day after taking the job, Dizon coached his first game. So far, so good.

The Tides (11-8, 8-7 Puget Sound League) won at Central Kitsap, 54-44, on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Gig Harbor plays at Mount Tahoma at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, then in a divisional crossover game next week against an opponent to be announced. Possible district tournament play would be after that if the Tides qualify.

Callaghan joins as assistant coach

Under the trying circumstances, Dizon knew he needed a quality assistant to help. So he called an old friend from his South Kitsap days: John Callaghan, one of Dizon’s coaches when he played for the Wolves.

Callaghan is a 2022 WIBCA Hall of Fame inductee as a coach who won 304 games in 21 years as a head coach.

Callaghan, 66, coached his team to second place at the 2004 Class 4A state tournament. His South Kitsap teams also placed third, fifth and sixth in other years before retiring four years ago.

John Callaghan, longtime coach of the South Kitsap boys basketball team, will work as an assistant coach under Dizon for the rest of the year. Photo courtesy SK basketball

Callaghan also played at South Kitsap, leading the Wolves to a state tournament appearance in 1976.

When Callaghan heard about the situation the Gig Harbor girls were in, he said yes to Dizon’s request right away. Dizon and Callaghan spent the better part of their lives in education, trying to help young people succeed. So both quickly dusted off their hoop shoes, did a couple of deep knee bends and headed to the Gig Harbor gym.

Both coaches — plus assistant coach Brian Cox, another former South Kitsap player and coach — met with the parents of the players after taking the job.

“When I was asked to do this, the first thing that came to mind is how I would feel as a parent, so I chose assistants that were caring and relational as well as being quality coaches,” Dizon said.

Still games left to win

Dizon was pleased with his team’s game Wednesday at Central Kitsap. The timeouts were interesting as he and his staff wanted to build trust through listening first.

“These girls have been playing together for a long time, including four games last week, so it’s important that we build on what they already do well and then make adjustments through film study and practice time,” he said. “But we were definitely impressed with their mentality and maturity during the game.”

Gig Harbor may not be a state championship-caliber team this year, but they are young. Ten of the 12 Tides are underclassmen.

They are potentially dangerous, with talented scorers in Kaliyah Miller, Ashlyn Peirce and Willow Bonnici. Plus they boast three players who are 6-foot or taller and two more over 5-foot-10.

The Gig Harbor girls basketball team. Photo by Christi Adams

The Tides remain second in the Puget Sound League’s Narrows Division. They are likely to play a familiar team in the first round of the Puget Sound League crossover tournament next week: Peninsula. The Seahawks (11-7, 10-5) are third in the league’s Nisqually Division and feature the uber-talented Grace Richardson.

In their only matchup this season, the Tides led most of the first half and played the Seahawks to a tie through three quarters. But the Seahawks ran away from the Tides in the fourth quarter, scoring easy buckets on a 14-5 fourth quarter run to win 47-36, on Jan. 15.