THE FRONT ROW WITH JASON ELLIOTT, October 12, 2013

To ask Lake City High boys soccer coach Chad Beadell, hitting the 100-win mark at the school wasn't the first thing on his mind when practices started in August.

Not even a little bit.

STARTING OUT as the junior varsity coach for Lake City as a 24-year old graduate of Gonzaga University, Beadell, 35, began coaching after a conversation with former North Idaho College soccer coach Bill Eisenwinter.

"I'd always talked to Bill," said Beadell, who guided the Timberwolf boys to their first outright 5A Inland Empire League title since 1998 this season. "When I got done playing at Gonzaga, and decided I wasn't going to play any more and had gotten my master's (of sport and athletic administration in 2003) at Gonzaga."

Through Mike Thompson, an assistant coach at Gonzaga, Beadell caught on with the Coeur d'Alene Sting under-14 girls program as an assistant.

"Matt (Ruchti) asked me about being the JV girls coach (at Lake City), so I took that gig," Beadell said. "When I took over the boys program (in the fall of 2005), I had to move to the girls side for club, and was really into it full boar."

With Lake City's 3-1 win against Post Falls on Tuesday, Beadell now has 97 wins.

"It's been a fun ride," Beadell said. "I really didn't even know my record until this year. I really don't pay much attention to the records, but when I saw it this year, I thought, 'whoa, that's kind of cool.'"

TO BEADELL, his wins are more about those players that have been on the field at Lake City.

"When I look back at it, it's all the different guys that have played for me, and bringing back those memories," Beadell said. "Cody Steele, my assistant coach, was on that first team. A lot of those guys bring back a lot of those good memories, seeing those guys succeed. Some of them are in the second year of law school and others are in the medical field."

"As a coach, you just want to make great young men that take life lessons from playing on the field," Beadell said.

Seniors on this year's team were freshmen when the team advanced to its first state 5A semifinal with Beadell in 2009.

"This year's team has been a way fun group to be around," Beadell said. "Each team has had its own identity, but they're a fun bunch."

WHILE AT Gonzaga, Beadell played goalkeeper for the Bulldogs after transferring from the Community Colleges of Spokane, and also played two years for the Spokane Shadow men's soccer team.

While there, Beadell roomed with Brian Ching, a midfielder from Gonzaga that has since gone on to play for the Houston Dynamo of the MLS, and briefly on the U.S. men's national team.

"Brian had a work ethic that was unbelievable," Beadell said. "He had a laundry list of injuries dating back to college, but his determination to keep playing was amazing. Seeing him get the call to go play for the national team was the coolest thing. He's a real quiet guy, hard worker and know what you're going to get from him. You'd have to break both his legs and stop his heart to keep him from playing."

Beadell added that Ching often times stayed after practice at GU, working on his shot, with Beadell in goal.

"It was cool to see that," Beadell said. "I haven't talked to him because he's been so busy in 12-13 years, but it's just cool to see one of the guys you used to play with at that level."

The injuries have since caught up with Ching, who announced that he'll retire following the season.

"It makes me sad, but his will to play is there," Beadell said. "But his body isn't."

Lake City's will to advance to state for the third time in four years starts Tuesday, when the Timberwolves host the Lewiston Bengals in the 5A Region 1 tournament semifinals. With a win, they'll advance.

Lose, and Beadell's chase for 100 resumes next fall.

"Nothing in this league's a gimme," Beadell said. "A lot of things have changed in the landscape of the league since I've been here. It's a great competitive league - and it's hard to imagine that I've been around long enough to get close to 100 wins."

Jason Elliott is a sports writer for the Coeur d'Alene Press. He can be reached by telephone at 664-8176, Ext. 2020 or via email at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter atJEPressSports.