OLYMPIA, Wash. — One of the winningest high school coaches in Washington state history is retiring after 43 years.
Coach Laurie Creighton's volleyball practices at Olympia High School are run like clockwork. They're precise, have a purpose, a plan, and Creighton never seems to stop.
"That's part of my personality," said Creighton. "That's definitely me. I'm a detail-oriented person.”
Creighton has been doing it this way since she first started coaching in 1978.
"I love athletics, I love sports, and the opportunity to work with kids and help them become better versions of themselves," said Creighton.
After graduating from Washington State University in 1977, Creighton took a teaching job in Olympia. She started her coaching career at Washington Middle School. A year later she was hired at Olympia High School.
"I've always just really enjoyed team sports,” explained Creighton. “That connectedness that is required on the court and really trying to help the kids learn how to be connected off the court, and be a good teammate and all that fits together in a way that I think is just really fun.”
Creighton's number one goal has always been to empower women. She wants her players to demonstrate coachability, character and commitment.
She credits her teachers and coaches from Issaquah High School as her inspiration.
"Having lost my mom and my grandmother as a ninth grader, and then the positive impact that the women who were my teachers and coaches - that impact that they had on me - I just saw the value of that and knowing that there's other kids who have similar stories. Maybe not exactly like mine, but that can use a positive female role model in their life,” said Creighton. “So, that's driven me for sure.”
Creighton's drive, along with preparation and passion, would equal success. She won her first state title in 1998 and a second in 2011. But for Creighton, it's never been about the wins.
"To me, it's about helping prepare kids for life, building character, and teaching life lessons along the way and building great team relationships," explained Creighton.
The COVID-19 pandemic cost Creighton the 2020 season, but when the kids came back, she had a full appreciation for what she's been preaching and teaching for decades.
"When we got those kids in the gym for the first time, they are all wearing masks, but you could just see the light in all of their eyes," said Creighton.
She's been a light for many, and that is why the school honored Creighton by naming the Olympia High School court after her.
Her Bears are still winning, but Creighton said the time to retire is now.
"For me, the amount of energy required to do the whole package, I just didn't feel the energy was going to last as long as maybe I would want to last with any particular group of kids," said Creighton.
It's been an amazing journey filled with 879 wins. But there's another number: 2,000. That’s the number of kids' lives she's touched over the years.
"I can't get my head around that. It's too much. That's a lot of kids, hard to think about it,” said Creighton. “It's been a pretty good ride.”
Creighton was inducted into the WIAA Hall of Fame in 2008. She is the third-winningest coach in Washington state history.
Creighton said she now plans to travel, play lots of pickleball and enjoy retirement with her husband, Greg.