Crestview High School volleyball and girls basketball Coach Kathy Combest added another honor to her already impressive resume last week, when she was inducted into the All Sports Association Hall of Fame.
I’ve covered Kathy for the better part of 14 years. I’ve come to know her pretty well in that time, and there is no doubt the lady can flat out coach.
Sure, coaches coach and players play. But when a player has a coach with a proven track record calling the shots, they execute the play with a little more confidence.
Kathy Combest is such a coach. Combest would be a Hall of Fame coach even if she only coached volleyball or basketball, instead of both. She has a winning percentage of more than .760 in both sports.
One way to think about that is this: If her team is scheduled to play 25 games, it will probably win 19 of them.
Great coaches have a fire about them that often wills their team to win. Former Baker head football coach and athletic director Jeff Webb said it best when describing Combest’s desire to win as almost being sinful.
One of the hardest things about being a sports writer is dealing with a coach after a tough loss. Coaches sometimes take a while to get over a loss — and it isn’t conducive to a writer’s deadline.
One such incident involving Combest happened during the 2012 volleyball season. Crestview lost at Choctaw, and the Bulldogs were in the locker room more than 30 minutes as I waited for a comment from the coach.
After about 30 minutes, one of Choctaw's players, seeing I was with the press, asked why I didn’t just knock on the door to see how much longer they were going to be.
I told her I wasn’t that brave.
I understand that when a player or coach pours everything they have into a game, they might not have anything to say after a loss.
I know how bad losing can hurt, especially when there are no more games to play that year.
Now, I have always had a good relationship with Kathy Combest. She is one of my favorite coaches whom I’ve dealt with in my 20 years as a sports writer.
That said, I know there will be nights when I wait that she may not come out for an interview.
Kathy Combest is a poor loser — and I mean that in the best sort of way.
It is her hate for losing, and that almost sinful desire to win, that makes her a Hall of Fame coach.
Email News Bulletin Sports Editor Randy Dickson, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: SIDELINE OBSERVATIONS: Kathy Combest is a Hall of Fame Coach