Steve Naylor, who guided Tigard’s girls basketball team to 11 league titles in 13 seasons, has resigned as the team’s coach.
Naylor said he stepped down so he would have time to watch his freshman son, Nick, play in the Southridge program.
He coached Nick’s eighth-grade team last season and was able to balance it with his duties as Tigard’s coach, but the scheduling conflict this season would be too much to overcome, he said.
“A lot of the games were the same nights and I couldn’t be at both places,” Naylor said. “It was a really tough decision. I knew I was going to regret it either way. Step back, 10 years from now, what will I regret more?”
Naylor coached Tigard in the summer and said he intended to coach this season, but as his son became more dedicated to basketball, he began to reconsider.
“I didn’t step down at the end of the season because if he wasn’t going to play – or he was going to play rec – I wasn’t going to step down for that,” Naylor said. “But he got a little bit more serious about it, so I just decided, you know what, you get a little short window with the kids.”
Mallory Goldammer, an assistant under Naylor, has been named as the interim coach. Naylor said that assistant Jason Ashley plans to help in some capacity, although Ashley’s availability is in question because his daughter, Payton, is a sophomore in the Oregon City program.
“Jason’s going to try to stay on and help scout, and I’m going to help her transition,” Naylor said. “I think it’s a great fit. The girls all know her.”
Could Naylor come back as coach?
“I guess I could, but there’s nothing in writing, nothing even verbal that’s been said,” he said. “I stepped down, that’s it. Mallory is going to interim for a year, and we’ll see what happens. I hope she gets the job and keeps it and does well. That’s great for her.”
Naylor coached at Century for six seasons before joining Tigard in 2006-07. He went 276-81 in 13 seasons with the Tigers, the second most wins of any 6A program during that span, behind Oregon City.
His teams made the state playoffs every year, reaching the semifinals in 2013 and the final in 2016, losing to South Salem 49-42. He was named league coach of the year nine times and 6A coach of the year twice (2013, 2016).
Tigard joined the Three Rivers League in 2014-15 and finished third, then won the next four league championships. Last season, the Tigers went 26-4 and fell in the quarterfinals.
Naylor said he “did not feel any pressure” to resign.
“I have great parents at all levels and awesome kids,” he said. “I am leaving on an incredibly positive note and will remain a huge fan.”
jerryu@osaa.org
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