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--> --> Aug. 9: Roberts leaves for Lakeridge By Bobby Heiken Ashland Daily Tidings In the end it all came down to timing. After years of rumors and speculation, Heather Roberts resigned as the girls head basketball coach at Ashland High Wednesday to take the same position at Lakeridge High in Lake Oswego. "They called about a month ago," Roberts said. "They offered me a good teaching package and it will be better for Jason (her husband) because of more job opportunities in Portland." Roberts arrived in Ashland five years ago and picked up a program that was in the dirt and quickly turned it into a winner. In her five years at the helm, Ashland made five straight trips to the state playoffs and was the Southern Oregon Conference champions in 1998-99. "She brought the girls program beyond respectability to excellence," Ashland High Athletic Director Jim Nagel said. "She developed the program into a consistent contender at the conference level and also at state." With all the success - Roberts ran up a 77-50 overall record - came attention from all over the state. Starting after the SOC championship year, Roberts' phone was ringing during every offseason. "Three years ago I started getting calls, but it was going to be Jenny (Pippa) and Chelsea's (Morgan) senior year," Roberts said. "Then the last couple years it's been the Crescent Valley job because I'm from there. But because of family reasons I didn't want to leave Ashland yet." But after this past season, it started to become a little easier for Roberts to move on. Ashland graduated six seniors and the program will be in a rebuilding phase. "This is a natural year to move on," Roberts said. "This is a perfect year for someone new to come in and get their own ideas started." After coaching this year's team through the summer league's, Roberts said the decision was not an easy one. "It made it really hard," she said. "This summer I had a great time with the girls and I didn't think I was leaving. That's the hardest part. This is a great group of kids." Whoever takes over the program will have the added benefit of an attitude Roberts put on the program. "When I first got her the first thing I had to do was get the kids to believe they could win," Roberts said. "Now they expect it. Mentally, the whole program is there." Roberts said she has many fond memories of her time as the head Grizz - but three stand out. "The first memory I have is my first year when we beat Eagle Point in a playoff game to get to the state tournament," she said. "Then two years later when we played North Medford and beat them for the No. 1 seed. And this past season when we beat Sheldon at the state tournament." After years of battling Crater's vaunted head coach Dave Heard, Roberts will now go head-to-head with Brad Smith at Oregon City as Lakeridge and Oregon City both play in the Three Rivers League. "Three Rivers is one of the top two leagues in the state," she said. "I'll be coaching against some of the best coaches in the state every game. It's going to be a little more of a challenge." As for a replacement at Ashland, Nagel admits the timing is a little off. "Things are going to need to happen quick," he said. "I've got a few leads and we'll see if we can match the job up with a couple teaching openings we have. If we can't then we may hire an interim coach for a year and then do a search after the season." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing