Darci Ward steps down as Napa High’s girls basketball coach
By Kyle Foster, photo courtesy of Don Lex (LuckyDuckImages.com)
Twitter: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
Darci Ward had a good run in her time at the helm of the Napa High girls basketball program.
But on Tuesday afternoon she told her team she’d be done for now after 16 seasons as the head coach.
“The reason for stepping down was solely to spend time with my kids,” Ward said in an email interview Wednesday. “They are 3 and 5 and I am missing a lot of time with them. I LOVE coaching, will always love coaching, and this was not an easy decision.”
However, she also hasn’t ruled out a return to coaching in the future.
“I think I will coach again in my future, as it has always been the best part of my life at NHS,” she explained.
Although she won’t be leading the girls basketball program next season she hasn’t ruled out remaining as the co-athletic director in the future.
“I am not sure about my AD spot for next year as nothing has been decided,” she added. “I do like the role and hope to continue if it is possible.”
Ward will continue her role on the Napa High staff of teaching P.E., as well as AVID.
During her time in charge she had a 295-149 record. She also led Napa to seven league titles over her 16-season tenure. Napa also made the playoffs nine times while Ward was in charge of the program.
Ward’s favorite memories in her time she was there include
It’s also meant a lot for Ward to have her sister and assistant coach Michelle Lewis by her side for all those seasons. She also appreciated the fact that her dad, Denny Lewis there for her all those years too.
“Pretty amazing that I got to coach so long with Michelle,” Ward explained of coaching with her sister for so long. “She is a person who I can 100% be myself. We challenged each other. We fought, we made-up, we laughed, and we cried. We also worked really hard to make the experience for our players one that they would remember for a lifetime. Not only did I coach with my sister, but our Dad was always there for us as well. He has always had a huge influence on us. Coaching with family means that you get to be your true and real self without inhibitions. This has its positives and negatives as we are pretty compassionate and competitive people!!”
Things will be different for other coaches around Napa to not coach against Ward next season.
“Darci is a great coach and the girls of Napa High have been incredibly fortunate to have her to not only shape them as basketball players but as people,” Justin-Siena coach Andy Bettencourt said. “We have always known when we play against Napa that they will be tough, physical, and compete for everything, and that was directly because of her influence. She is a great colleague and a friend and while I am saddened to see her take a break, I know that she is doing the right thing for herself and her family. It will be very weird to not see her coaching at Napa next season.”
“I’m definitely going to miss competing with Napa High with her at the helm,” Vintage coach Joe Donohoe explained. “When I took the job at Vintage she kinda was the benchmark standard that I was trying to achieve, and I got a ton of respect for how she ran her program, and not just the wins and losses, but the whole thing, the way she interacts with the girls and the community. She’s a great basketball coach, and I’m very happy that we’ve become good friends over the years. I’ll definitely miss the opportunity to go up against her, but I’m sure she’ll be back once the kids get a little older. Hopefully I’ll still be around.”
This past season the Grizzlies went 15-12 overall, with a 6-6 mark in the Vine Valley Athletic League, which was good for a third-place finish in the league. Napa lost in the VVAL tournament semifinals to Casa Grande-Petaluma 56-53. Next season Napa will be returning eight players.
Napa will be posting the position next week in order to get the position filled come summer.
