I remember Lisle from the Ballard Boy's Club football team, he played center on offense, and noseguard on defense. Also on that team were, Dave Wilson, the Hopkins brothers, Mark San Diego, and many others. I'm not surprized that, Lisle became a Coach, Gary Hopkins, and Mark San Diego, were Coaches in youth football, along with myself. I tried to find our team picture. But, alas it's buried somewhere in my storage unit, I thought it would be for the team members to see it. Sorry that Lisle and other team players will not be attending.                                Don Gerlach

Mr. Lafond was my JV basketball coach at Nathan Hale in 1977-1978.  That was the most fun I ever had playing basketball. He made you want to practice. He would dress down and play with us, always working to improve our skills. He would take terrible shots and he never called fouls on himself and practice only ended after someone hit a shot from half court.  At the beginning of the season we lost almost all of our games , but ended the season winning the last six in a row. The most noteworthy win was over Queen Anne, at their Gym..we were behind 61-49 with 1:04 left and we out scored them 14 - 1 in the last minute to win 63-62. I believe that we carried 14 players on a team back then and I was probably about #16 in turnouts, I am not sure what made him take another guard, but the day he said I was on the team was truly the most pivotal day of my life. I had been cut from every team I had tried out for in junior high school and high school, but this year was different.  He was brutally honest with me and told me I would rarely get to play in games but he knew I would work hard in practice.  I didn't care at all, I was on the team.  His belief in me turned my life around.  As it turned out I did get to play a lot and actually started the last half of the season, and although that was the high watermark of my hoops career, it totally changed my opinion of myself and spawned an upward spiral in life that has continued to this day.  Oh how I wish I could have told him that to his face.  Instead I am learning 12.5 years after the fact that he left us in 2003. Thanks Mr. Lafond