PREP BASKETBALL: Port Angeles head coach Michael Poindexter retiring after 15 seasons

Published 1:30 am Thursday, March 19, 2026

PORT ANGELES — After spending the last decade and a half as a fixture at the end of the Port Angeles girls basketball bench, Roughriders head coach Michael Poindexter’s retirement was accepted by the Port Angeles School Board on Thursday evening.

Poindexter, who stepped into the role ahead of the 2011-12 season, said he had been toying with the idea of stepping back since the 2024-25 season.

“Trying to figure out what the best time would be for somebody new coming in,” Poindexter said. “That was the No. 1 motivation for the timing, and it’s based off of a couple of factors. We have returning kids with strong character who will be good leaders in effectively conveying standards to the kids coming in and welcoming those kids. And there’s a nice influx of next year’s eighth- and ninth-graders set to join the team.

“We are seeing the end of the COVID eras )lack of access to training). With the number of new faces coming into the program, it’s a good time for somebody new to step in and provide continuity during their four years.

“There’s never an ideal time to exit.”

Achieved 250 wins

Poindexter’s teams thrived on defensive pressure in zone and man-to-man defenses, rebounded well despite typically being outsized and produced plenty of thrilling victories along with some difficult defeats.

In his 15 seasons, Poindexter’s teams produced a 250-112 overall coaching record, including going 170-28 in Olympic League play with nine league championships, three West Central District championships, four trips to the state tournament regional round, and his Riders teams qualified for eight Class 2A state tournaments.

He coached two future NCAA Division I players in Madi Hinrichs (Idaho State) and Millie Long (Humboldt State/Alaska-Anchorage/Fresno State).

Poindexter oversaw three straight 20-win teams from 2017-2020. His most talented team in the COVID-shortened 2021 season featured Long along with future Linfield College standout Eve Burke and Pacific Lutheran team member Jaida Wood.

That squad went 14-0 against Kitsap and Olympic Peninsula teams and would have been a likely state trophy-winning team if the state tournament had been held.

“Those were joyous, connected and fun years,” Poindexter said. “We were deep and talented. Millie was doing Millie things. And once things settled in, it was fun and unified.”

Poindexter said he kept returning as a coach because he finds the sport to be intellectually interesting and emotionally engaging.

“I like the fluidity of basketball and how it has evolved over the years to still stay interesting,” he said. “And I like problem-solving, the analytics of things. Every season there are kids coming in, kids remaining, but the team is different every year, and figuring out how to find success was always challenging. And sports are rewarding until they break your heart. But there’s something rewarding in that, too — the memory of that pain but how much you loved that group and that moment in time.”

Poindexter retired from his English teaching career at Port Angeles High School in 2020.

“I love to see progress, both personally and skills wise,” he said. “Growing in life and growing in the game. It’s rewarding to watch improvement. I would get so excited in practice with things going right. I would compliment players for things that would drive them crazy. And it’s rewarding to see things click for individuals and for teams.

“Sports are a natural extension of teaching, just in a different classroom setting.”

He has been involved in high school basketball for 41 seasons, 20 as a head coach and 21 as an assistant after growing up with a dad who coached, taught and served as a high school principal.

“This will be the first winter I haven’t been coaching since 1989 or 1990,” Poindexter said.

“Coaching isn’t just the four months in-season. It occupies offseason time in different ways. You are scheduling team camp, scheduling games, talking with coaches, fundraising, then you have team camp and summer activities. And then you spend July through October thinking about what you saw during the summer and thinking about what might work.

“I’ll probably get more reading done. I will miss all that; the practice and game planning I will miss. Watching games around the state, not just games for our opponents but being on the state [tournament] seeding committee for the last five years and watching games around the state all season long. Conversations with coaches around the state.”

Longtime assistants

Continuity was key to Port Angeles’ production throughout his time.

“One theme that we would address is continuity,” Poindexter said. “Jennifer Rogers was with me for 14 years as an assistant and Daniel Horton for 11 of those years, and that kind of continuity is rare at this level. Every other Olympic League school has had at least five head coaches and Bainbridge has had four.”

Poindexter also had consistency at the administrative level under former Athletic Director Dwayne Johnson (1985-2025), now in the same position at Neah Bay.

“My 14 years working with Dwayne Johnson was integral to our success and to my growth as a coach,” he said.

Poindexter’s teams often had a workmanlike approach. There wasn’t a ton of showboating or showing up the opposition.

“As a program, we talked most about maintaining a sense of who you are in the face of things going wrong,” Poindexter said. “Who will you be when that moment happens? Will you maintain that consistent approach despite the results?

“We’ve won some games over the last decade and a half, and I’ve always heard from other coaches an appreciation about how our kids handled the winning and treated opposing teams — as friendly rivals, rivals we respect, and we encouraged kids to develop those relationships as kind of a broader sense of team. They are all teammates, and every coach is bonded through basketball.”

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Sports reporter/columnist Michael Carman can be contacted at sports@peninsuladaily news.com.