Kristie Stevens coached Catalina Foothills to 14 team titles, 11 doubles championships and 10 singles championships but, as crazy as it seems, it all almost never happened. The school opened in 1993 and Melissa Hale brought home the first championship in school history. Her singles title came long before all the tennis, soccer and swim team championships started to pour in. Hale would win it all again the next year and the program was off and running.

As we noted in a story last March, Stevens was just looking to volunteer and she knocked on a door of a temporary building the day before the season started in 1993 and then temporary became permanent. Almost.

READ ABOUT HOW IT ALL STARTED HERE

“It was time to move on professionally and explore my options,” Stevens said. “I applied for several administrative positions and my expertise and connections helped me get the job at Ironwood Ridge.”

It may come as a shock to some (especially in the media) but “coaching” doesn’t pay the bills in Arizona. A stipend that comes out to about $1 an hour doesn’t prepare an educator for professional advancement and it certainly doesn’t help with retirement. More and more coaches are leaving the sidelines behind for the financial and professional security of a job in administration and it’s understandable.

The Amphitheater School District pulled off a major coup and voted to confirm the hiring of Stevens to be the new assistant principal at Ironwood Ridge, most likely in charge of athletics. And why not?

Stevens earned the status of National Coach of the Year not once, but twice, and she was an easy early-entrant into the Pima County Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. Her connections with the Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) are almost endless and almost 30 years of working with parents and athletes at one of the most visible programs in the state cannot be matched.

“I’ve worked with David Hines (AIA Executive Director) and almost everyone at the AIA,” Stevens added. “I know all the procedures and all the requirements. This will be a great fit for me.”

Stevens will start with Ironwood Ridge in July and this will be her last spring with the girls at Catalina Foothills. Ranked No. 2 in Division II, the Falcons are almost always favorites come late April.

Will Stevens bring home 15 state championships? Only time will tell. The Falcons will host No. 15 McClintock on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. in first round action.

Sue Clark coached Tucson High to 10 titles from 1959 to 1972 and it’s very doubtful anyone else from Southern Arizona will come any closer than that.