Terry Irwin grew up in Spokane and graduated from Central Valley High School where he played for the legendary Ray Thacker. He then went to Gonzaga University on a basketball scholarship, playing just one year and then moving on to graduate from the University of Washington with an education major.
While living in Seattle, he married his wife, Clarie. They have been married for 36 years and have two daughters, Sherri and Kimberly. Sherri and her husband, Dale, have two sons, Jared and Cory, and live in Helena, Montana. Kimberly and her husband, Aaron, have two sons, Tyler and Jason, and one daughter, Alyson. They live in Olympia, Washington.
Terry began his teaching career in 1972 with the Central Valley School District in the Spokane Valley. His first coaching position came a few years later as an assistant coach at Gonzaga Prep. After two years, he became the head coach and stayed for six more years. While at Gonzaga Prep, Terry coached the greatest pure point guard to ever play the game in John Stockton, one of the 50 greatest of all time. He then returned to his alma mater, Central Valley High School, as head coach for the next 13 years. Terry “retired” from head coaching in 1996, but could only stay out of the game for three years. He-returned to Central Valley as an assistant coach for four more years, giving him 25 years as a high school coach in the State of Washington.
During his 19 years as head coach, Terry finished in the top three, or higher, 14 times with three league titles, two district championships, one regional title, and three “Coach of the Year” honors. He had 12 teams go to regional play, with two going on to a fourth and seventh place finish in state once the 16 team format was brought back in 1988.
Coach Irwin would especially like to thank his assistant coaches over the years: Pat Clark, Doug Steck, Ron Knudsen, Jay Humphrey, Chuck Bowden, Mike Laws, and Rick Sloan, for their loyalty, dedication and friendship. In addition, he extends a special thank you to Bill Pierce, his long time scorekeeper, for his love of the game and all the stats he provided for so many years. Most of all, to the great players whose hard work and commitment have made this all possible—”Thank You!”
