A coaching career to remember

SANDPOINT — Some say he was one of the most dedicated — and decorated — head boys basketball coach's Sandpoint High has had in its history.

After four successful years at the helm of Bulldog hoops, Brian Childs, who led the team to four straight Inland Empire League district championship appearances, the first time such a feat has been accomplished in school history, officially resigned in late March citing an "expired shelf life" after 27 years on the basketball coaching scene.

"27 years is a long time to do anything," Childs said. "And the shelf life of a coach anymore certainly isn't 27 years. Coaching up here is tough and I heard all of the stories about it. We had talked about it last year (resigning) after Parker (Childs), my son, had graduated, but we had a great group of kids who worked for us (the coaching staff) and wanted us to come back."

Childs ended his coaching career at Sandpoint with an overall record of 37-59 (.385), and while that number might not be eye-popping, his accolades prove that he's helped the program reach new heights in recent years.

During the 2024-2025 season, Sandpoint went 11-12 and beat Lakeland three times in one season for the first time in school history, winning the Battle for the Paddle spirit game for the first time in the process. According to MaxPreps, which is used by the Idaho High School Activities Association to determine rankings, the Bulldogs boasted the second-hardest schedule and finished the campaign ranked No. 7 in the 5A classification. Sandpoint finished second in the league due to a tiebreaker with Lewiston, but posted a tied-for-best 5-1 regular season league record, defeating the Bengals, ranked No. 2 in 5A, for the first time since the 2019-2020 season. The Bulldogs also swept Moscow for the first time since the 2022-2023 season, also under Childs... before that, Sandpoint hadn't recorded a road win over Moscow since the 2010-2011 season. The Bulldogs were 7-3 at home, won 10 of their last 15 games to close out the year, and reached double-digits in the win column for the second straight season — something only accomplished a handful of times in school history.

"This year was a tough year...," Childs said. "The kids worked hard, battling through injuries all the way down to the last game — that's part of it. We played against some of the best teams around and had a really tough schedule, playing against eight state tournament teams, not including the teams we played in Arizona. The team from Cleveland (Rocky River) won 14 games and the one from California (Whitney) won 16 games, and we played them for a reason, hoping to get back to the state tournament and be one of those top-four seeds."

In 2023-2024, Childs was named the 4A Inland Empire League Coach of the Year. The team went 12-14 and clinched a state tournament bid for the first time since 2008 after a Cinderella run that led to the Bulldogs winning the 4A IEL district title as the bottom seed. Although falling in both of their games at state, the Bulldogs brought home the 4A State Sportsmanship Award.

Overall, under Childs' tenure, Sandpoint High boys hoops has posted a number of other accomplishments, including but not limited to, beating Post Falls in 2021 for the first time since 2008, winning the 4A IEL regular season title during the 2022-2023 season for the first time in over a decade, and winning 14 league games in a total of just four years. Childs has coached 10 all-league selections (Rusty Lee, twice; Ethan Butler; Arie VanDenBerg; Derrick Chamberlain; Logan Roos, Emerik Jones, twice, and Parker Childs, two-time 4A IEL Most Valuable Player), and his son, Parker, was the first Sandpoint selection in 15 years to compete in the North-South All-Star game held at North Idaho College in 2024.

"That first team that I had here, we really played seven kids and were able to make it to the district championship game," Childs said. "I told Ethan (Butler) and Jacob (Eldridge) that year, that they were going to come back in three-four years and we were going to have this program where we wanted it. That first year really propelled us into the next year and we won the league title... and then the year after that we catch lightning in a bottle with Parker (Childs) and Emerik (Jones) willing us to the state tournament. Now, we start thinking some things are in place. We're fixtures at different team camps and venues in the summertime. We gained respect, and once you've been there and have gone through what we've gone through, earning respect is difficult. We got respect from the teams around here... we got the teams that we play in the summertime to follow us in the winter."

Prior to Sandpoint, Childs, a native of Muncie, Ind., spent 23 years coaching high school basketball, 16 of those years as a head coach. Originally hired under former SHS Athletic Director Kris Knowles, Knowles touted Childs as a problem solver — one who doesn't overreact, navigates difficulties and takes on every challenge from the perspective of what’s best for his athletes. Childs has a history of rebuilding programs, including Coeur d'Alene Charter's for seven seasons.

"Every team I have ever coached has been a complete rebuild from the ground up, whether that was at Charter, at Eastbrook (Marion, Ind.), or here in Sandpoint," Childs said. "Culture is sort of a buzzword, but I feel like the culture and program is in a better place than when I got it. We start talking about culture, or about expectations, about what it takes in the offseason and what is takes in your training, and you value your core principles of your program and work habits... I think we've gotten it to a pretty good point right now."

One of his favorite coaching moments throughout the years was being able to coach his sons, Parker and Conner.

"Being able to coach both Parker and Conner was really special, there's not a lot of dads that get to do that," Childs said. "From that perspective, it's special, but so was the growth and development of the program to where I think it is. I'm awfully proud of that."

Current players and their parents advocated for Childs at a Lake Pend Oreille School Board meeting this past Tuesday, hoping he may reconsider. Both the players and parents noted Childs' extensive impacts on them and the program, specifically in how he helped athletes see their true potential, how there was a mutual respect between Childs and his players, and how Childs even changed the trajectory of some players' lives. His positive relationship with Sandpoint Future, a youth travel basketball organization, and other AAU coaches was noted along with the extra time and energy he put into the program.

"I was watching the Orioles-Diamondbacks when my son came up to me and said I wasn't going to believe what happened that night," Childs said. "I didn't know about it and I think that takes a lot of courage to do something like that. For most kids, public speaking just isn't natural. The support that was there — I'd be lying if I said it didn't mean anything to me. It means a lot. A lot of kids are disappointed that we (the coaching staff) are leaving... I know the one told his mom that we weren't just his coaches, but we were his family... this is a business of relationships, that's what it's all about, and I feel like we made real connections."

When asked what the next step was, Childs wasn't exactly sure at the moment, but if it were in the coaching scene it would have to be a really good opportunity.

"Basketball has been a really big part of my life, and the 27 years of coaching doesn't include when I played in high school and college," Childs said. "It's hard to imagine not being around the game in some capacity. One door closes and hopefully another one opens up."

Sandpoint High Athletic Director TJ Clary said Childs turned the program into one that has had the winningest four-year span in a number of decades, and should be recognized for that.

"In so many ways, he was such a great coach," Clary said. "He dedicated his life to that team. Basketball coaches aren't just there in the wintertime as most people know, and even when he couldn't coach (due to IHSAA offseason regulations), he was working with coaches that we were trying to get to help participate in the springtime. He was all-in, he lived for it, and I thank him for his dedication to the team over the last four years and recognize what he has brought to the table. With any change, this will be an opportunity to see what's out there and hopefully we can continue to get better. Brian set the stage for that and got the team set up. I think we're going to see some huge success in boys' basketball and a lot of that is going to be because of Brian Childs."