‘Old-school’ coach hanging it up after 30 years on the job at Melba High School
When Don Jamison began coaching softball at Melba High School in 1993, the sport had yet to transition to fast-pitch.
Three decades later, Jamison is ready to retire. He leaves a legacy that will be hard to replicate.
“In terms of girls athletics, Melba has obviously been known for softball more so than anything else,” said Casey Clark, Melba’s athletic director. “When I started six years ago at Melba, I couldn’t help but notice all the state championship banners hanging in the gym.
“Since I took over, I don’t really mess with what Don’s doing. He’s kind of proven himself to be a qualified coach and a successful coach.”
A retirement party in recognition of Jamison’s career is set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Melba High School commons area. All are welcome.
“I love the game, and it was great being around the kids. I mean that,” Jamison said. “... But I think everybody comes to that point when they want to retire. You just know it. You just feel it.”
The 73-year-old retired middle school earth science teacher leaves Melba with seven state championships over 30 seasons, and the Mustangs advanced to state 25 times under his watch. Several of his players still hold individual state records for home runs, RBIs and ERA at the state tournament.
He finishes his career with an overall record of 595-203 — a winning percentage of nearly 75 percent. He was recognized as the District Three coach of the year nine times and the Idaho coach of the year six times.
“What I appreciate about Don is he’s very outspoken,” Clark said. “He has high expectations of kids. He’s very honest with kids, which our culture today, I don’t know if kids always want to hear the honest truth about things.
“There was a young lady who was a senior this year who said it best: ‘Even though you made me cry a bunch this year, I still appreciate you as a coach and you just kind of telling me how it is.’ It’s kind of an old-school coaching style, but an effective one because it does prepare kids for life, rejection and criticism, and all those things that at some point when you grow up, you have to face.”
Melba won state softball titles at the 2A level — the state’s second-smallest classification — in 1994, 1999, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2012. More than a dozen of his former players went on to play college softball, and some have even followed in his footsteps and are now coaching softball in the Treasure Valley. Others have come back to be assistant coaches for the Mustangs.
“That makes it pretty special when you have people that help you out and do that, along with my wife,” Jamison said. “Everybody says she’s the real coach. ... I couldn’t have done it without her and all the rest of the assistant coaches through the years. It’s been pretty special.”
