Peninsula boys hoops coach Jake Jackson will be coaching on the opposite sideline next year, replacing Brett McDaniel as the head coach at Sumner.
Jackson, who is also CEO of Puyallup-based Sterling Athletics, said he had growing time commitments outside of coaching, and he needed to spend more time with his family.
The biggest time factor was the distance. Jackson estimated that he logged 20,000 miles in the car driving between Peninsula and his home in Lake Tapps over the last four years.
“I want to be a present dad,” said Jackson, who has a 1-year-old son. “If I have 20,000 more minutes with my family, you can’t put a price tag to that.”
The Sumner community will not be new to Jackson. His wife Stacy is a 5th grade teacher in the Sumner School District, and prior to coaching at Peninsula, Jackson was an assistant coach under McDaniel for two seasons.
When McDaniel stepped down at the beginning of March, he recommended Jackson for the job.
“To be able to impact life in the town that I live in and mentor youth in the town that I live in, that’s what it’s all about,” Jackson said.
Sumner will move up to Class 4A from 3A next year and went 14-9 last season.
THANK YOU 2 the entire Peninsula community for ur love & THANK YOU 2 the Sumner community for bringing me back home! pic.twitter.com/tja6C5R0kO
— Jake Jackson (@CoachJackson03) April 14, 2016
Jackson, who spent four years at Peninsula, was instrumental in turning around a struggling Seahawks program.
Before Jackson arrived, the squad had won just six games in four seasons. By the time Jackson left, Peninsula had qualified for districts three times and made its third state tournament appearance in school history.
Last year Peninsula placed third in the West Central District 3A tournament and lost to Cleveland 75-62 in the first round of the state tournament.
Jackson compiled a 58-35 record in four seasons, including 39-11 in the last two years.
However, it wasn’t the wins that Jackson was most proud of in his time at Peninsula. Jackson said they gradually built a culture that transcended into people being passionate about basketball and wanting to be a part of it.
“All these community members started coming to our games,” Jackson said. “They believed in Peninsula basketball, and that to me is what makes me the most proud. The community embraced or vision, adopted our culture, and it became a lifestyle.”
