Lewis sisters leave a legacy for Napa High girls basketball

Since 1974, Napa High basketball and the last name Lewis have been
synonymous, like rims, backboards and nets.

For the first time since Jimmy Carter occupied the Oval Office, the last
name Lewis and Napa basketball will not be linked together as Darci
Ward announced that she will be resigning as the school’s girls basketball
head coach after 16 seasons. Ward’s younger sister, Michelle Lewis, will
also join Darci in stepping away from coaching. Ward’s father, Denny
Lewis, was the boys basketball head coach from 1974-2002, leading
Napa to 15 CIF Sac-Joaquin section playoff berths, including a section
title in 1991-1992. Michelle posted a heartfelt message on her Facebook
page.

In an interview with Napasportsnews.com reporter Kyle Foster, Ward
sited the need to spend more time with her family as her reason for
resigning. Ward is married to former Vintage High boys basketball head
coach Ted Ward. The couple has children that are 3 and 5 years of age.
Ward is also the school’s co-athletic director with Tom Petithomme but
hopes to continue in that capacity. Ward will remain at Napa as a
physical education and AVID teacher.

In her 16 seasons, Ward led Napa to a 295-149  record with nine playoff
appearances, seven league titles and six seasons with 20 or more wins.
The program’s finest hour came in 2005-2006 when Napa went 31-3 on
the way to reaching the CIF NorCal Playoffs. The team also had a
23-game winning streak. In that stretch, Napa had a few down years but
one never morphed into say, two or three.

I could wax poetic all day about Napa’s accomplishments under Ward
but there are a few things to unpack. By my own admission, I have gotten
cynical when I hear that a coach is resigning to spend more time with
family, mainly because in some cases it is a smokescreen to a back story
of conflict with coach and administration. However, in this case, I believe
Ward’s reasons to be true. Being a father of three kids myself and a
former sports reporter, I know that while having an adult life in sports
is rewarding, the time away from family is real. You sacrifice time away
from your kids to be with the youngsters of others.

Then you factor in Ward’s role of co-athletic director and at some point,
the sacrifice becomes even more immense. Plus, her kids are 3 and 5,
not 23 and 25.   

I would also be remiss not to mention Michelle’s role in the program’s
success. It’s easy to fixate on the head coach because they are front and
center. However, you could ask any head coach of a program that is
considered successful and they will tell you it is never the work of one
person. Though the work of assistant coaches often go unnoticed, those
who understand the game know the importance of their role. In a nutshell,
the head coach is the driver of the racecar, the assistant coach/coaches are
the pit crew. You need both to be successful.

It also stands to reason that having seen and/or heard various coaching
stories from their father’s coaching tenure, the Lewis sisters applied what
they learned from him. Granted, coaching boys and girls are different in
some ways but coaching is coaching. It’s still Xs and Os and Jimmies
and Joes -- or Jennys and Janes.

The Lewis sisters were accomplished student-athletes that became coaches
that helped their team achieve at a high level. Darci, who like her father,
is in the Napa High Athletic Hall of Fame, graduated from Napa in 1995
and competed in cross country, basketball, track and field and tennis. She
went on to become the Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year at College of
San Mateo where she also participated in basketball, cross-country and
track & field before continuing her education at the University of
Montana. At Montana, Ward earned a scholarship for her efforts on the
cross-country and indoor and outdoor track & field teams while also
being named to the All-Academic team.

Michelle, who graduated in 1997, was an all-league performer in basketball
who went on to play at Solano Community College and Eastern Illinois. In
her senior season, Lewis set a record for 3-pointers made and attempted.

When you get high achieving athletes that become coaches, it is often a
crapshoot. Some see that success translate to their coaching career while
others flop for an assortment of reasons. The Lewis sisters had that success
carry into their coaching careers.

However, when you look at the Lewis sisters in their coaching roles, you
have to peel another layer off the onion. I have only known them on the
periphery since I covered the Upvalley beat, I always glanced at their
team’s success from afar. Two of my cousins’ daughters played for them,
shoutout Noelle Roldan and Alivia Trzesniewski. Shoutout also to their
mothers, my cousins, Robin Patterson and Roseanne Trzesniewski.  

Their families and numerous others that I have spoken to evoke vibes of
how they made meaningful differences in their youngsters’ lives. Much
the same narrative was uttered for years about their father, Denny. At the
high school level and younger, impact on lives is most important because
you cannot tangibly measure that quality but when you marry it with on
court success -- even better.

In the meantime, Ward has not ruled out a return to coaching in the future
but sometimes life has a greater calling.

It won’t be the same not uttering the words Lewis and Napa High
basketball together.

Here’s hoping that the next coach sustains the culture and success
established under Darci and Michelle.