Three Grimms will coach at Kingston High next year

Published 8:57 am Sunday, July 24, 2016

BY SOPHIE BONOMI

North Kitsap Herald

KINGSTON — When the need for a new football coach arose at Kingston High School, young Alec Grimm jumped at the opportunity.

As the 23-year-old gears up to coach at the same high school as his mom, he managed to get his dad on board, too.

The younger Grimm, a recent graduate of Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota, played four seasons at the NCAA Division III university. But his passion for football stemmed long before college, when he played under his father at Bainbridge High School.

The 2011 BHS graduate will replace former Kingston head football coach Todd Harder, who served four seasons with the Bucs before resigning.

Although Coach Grimm is new to the field, his family has a long history in the local sports community.

His mother, Terry Grimm, is the Kingston girls tennis coach. Prior to joining the Buccaneers, she coached tennis at North Kitsap.

And Alec Grimm’s dad, Andy, was the head football coach of the Spartans for more than 15 years and had a coaching record of 85 wins and 89 losses, according to Bainbridge High School Athletic Director Kaycee Taylor.

While the elder Grimm planned to take some time off at the end of the 2015 school year, he decided to take the assistant coach position at Kingston, working under his son.

“When Andrew’s son applied at Kingston and was hired, he agreed to help him with that transition,” said Richard Henert, Kingston’s new athletic director.

Henert said Alec is very familiar with the football culture in the Pacific Northwest. Noting Andy Grimm is going to be a “good resource” for his son, he said, it looks like the father-son coaching duo have the right relationship to build the team together.

“I was impressed and excited for what they want to bring to Kingston,” Henert said. “Kingston High School football has had some success for their size, so they’re definitely hoping to use that as a platform to work up from to develop Kingston football to the next level.”

Andy Grimm, a Pacific Lutheran University alum, played football under Coach Frosty Westering, an iconic PLU head football coach who had four national championships in his 41-year career.

Henert hopes Andy’s experience combined with Alec’s enthusiasm will continue to develop a deep-seated Buccaneer sports culture.

“He’s definitely jumping into a position that I’m sure is going to be a bit of challenge but I’m encouraged by his enthusiasm and willingness to put the time in,” Henert said. “He has the right mindset.”

Henert, a football coach for 10 years, said Alec’s doing all the right things.

“The biggest thing is to start small and keep things simple,” he said. “Build success for the kids, and don’t forget as a young coach to protect yourself, but most importantly, protect the kids. I think he’s got the right mindset.”

Alec started substitute teaching at KHS at the end of last year and plans to have a presence in the building at the start of school as well.

“He’ll be around the building pretty much every day starting in the fall,” Henert said, something, he thinks will encourage a higher turnout of students.

As Kingston’s new athletic director for the start of the 2016-17 school year, Henert said he is looking forward to an exciting change as he hopes to grow the school sports culture.

“[KHS] is only eight years old,” he said. “I really see the opportunity to help develop a school culture in all sports programs in general. I’m excited to come into a strong community and help those sports build.”