John and Jake: Duke basketball legend Coach K saves Yelm sports teams

On the brink of Yelm Community Schools losing the C-sports programs for both middle and high school, an unlikely hero swooped in to make sure youth sports will continue on in the Pride of the Prairie — legendary Duke men’s basketball head coach, and longtime friend of John Curley, Mike Krzyzewski or as he’s more famously known, Coach K.

Krzyzewski coached for 47 years between his alma mater, Army and Duke University, appearing in 36 NCAA tournaments and making 13 Final Fours. The Naismith Hall of Fame inductee won five national championships with Duke University and three gold medals when he helmed the Team USA men’s basketball team,

More on the help Yelm needed: John and Jake raise money to save the schools’ sports programs

“The winningest coach in college basketball history, a friend of mine, and a guy I texted about two hours ago saying, ‘Coach K, you got to help us get across the finish line here,” Curley said during Tuesday’s episode of “The John Curley and Jake Skorheim Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “We’ve got to raise the final amount of money for Yelm sports.'”

That text was all Coach K needed.

“When you texted me and told me about this, yeah, of course I’m going to do it,” Krzyzewski said. “But I think people need to realize that sports is really part of a young man or a young woman getting an education. What better place than through sport can you teach character?”

Then Duke Blue Devils Head Coach Mike Krzyzewski speaks during a news conference after his team’s 84-81 victory over the Gonzaga Bulldogs on Nov. 26, 2021 in Las Vegas. (Photo: Ethan Miller, Getty Images)

Krzyzewski went on to talk about how it’s important to believe in kids’ abilities and telling them not to be afraid to fail because “it’s not about being perfect.”

“All the time through my 47 years of coaching, I got to run camps for tens of thousands of youngsters, the ages of these kids who in in your school district and and I would always tell them you’re a winner if you always try your best,” Krzyzewski said.

Krzyzewski also talked about one of his key goals when he coached both at Army and at Duke.

“You know, I want to be the best teacher that you have in school,” the Hall of Fame coach said. “I want my class to be the one where you learn the most and and don’t look at sport as some frivolous thing. It’s a class. It’s a class that teaches so many. Of the great human traits that you would want these young girls and boys to develop as they grow to be men and women.”

More on the fundraiser to help the Yelm sports programs

Yelm Community Schools announced it would undergo significant cuts for sports programs to overcome a projected budget shortfall exceeding more than $8 million. The first to go was all high school and middle school C-teams — also known as development squads made up of mostly first-year students, according to KIRO 7.

Jason Ronquillo, Yelm High School’s head football coach, told “The John and Jake Show” he, as a member of the nonprofit Total Sports Development, was working with the community to raise $50,000 to reinstate the programs. The fundraiser, which can be seen here, rocketed past its $50,000 goal, reaching nearly $65,000 as of this reporting. They reached their goal around the time Krzyzewski appeared on KIRO Newsradio Tuesday.

“You learn to trust. You learn loyalty. You learn collective responsibility and teamwork,” Krzyzewski said. “Tell me, what course in school teaches that better than sports? There is none. You cannot eliminate sport. We have to raise some money here and make sure that these kids keep getting these opportunities to develop as young women and young men.”

Krzyzewski has long been involved with charitable projects and ventures, starting with he and his family founding the Emily Krzyzewski Center. He’s been active for years in fundraising and support for organizations including the Duke Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network and the V Foundation for Cancer Research, crossing paths with John Curley many times while working as an auctioneer.

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“It’s just like any educational piece, you can’t skip steps. You can’t just skip algebra and go straight to calculus because you’re not going to be successful,” Ronquillo told “The John and Jake Show” after the goal was reached. “Like in any athletics, if you want to play at the calculus level, you got to go through every single step and you got to be successful at every step. When you start missing steps, or think it’s OK to lose a year or two, you’re never really at the top level.”

Ronquillo stated the money will be used for the C-teams in middle school and high school, and any leftover will be banked for next year after the four-year replacement levy, which would have provided funding for district programs such as athletics, activities, mental health services and special education in Yelm, failed by less than 100 votes.

During the process, John explained sponsor Wilcox Family Farms played a key role in helping Yelm get the money they needed.

“Wilcox was instrumental in helping Yelm meet their goal,” John said.

Contributing: Steve Coogan

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.