Hanna steps down after four seasons as Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach

Saying “I don’t want to fight anymore,” Tony Hanna resigned Friday following four seasons as Coeur d’Alene High head boys basketball coach.

Hanna went 43-45 as Vikings coach, including 7-15 this season.

Coeur d’Alene last qualified for state in 2012.

“Honestly, it’s time for me to be a parent,” said Hanna, who has a son, 15, and a daughter, 12. “I’ve always tried to do things the right way, and there’s things that are super important to me, as far as character and morals and ethics, and teaching young people to be good men. And there was a small group of parents that don’t agree with the way I’ve been running the program. It’s OK; we’re always going to have critics ...

“It’s been a good go; I gave it the best I could. I tried to do things the right way. But it’s just time for me to move on.”

Tony’s wife, Willow, recently was hired for her second stint as volleyball coach at Post Falls. Willow Hanna coached the Trojans for nine seasons (2007-15).

“Like so many sports, high school basketball is not a seasonal sport for coaches but requires a year-long commitment,” Coeur d’Alene High athletic director Mike Randles said in a statement. “We genuinely appreciate all of coach Hanna’s service and dedication over these past four years to Coeur d’Alene High School. Coaches like Tony Hanna who are truly dedicated to building student-athletes, giving equal weight to both those words, are rare. He will be missed.”

Randles said the school plans to post the position in the near future.

Prior to coming to Coeur d’Alene, Hanna was boys basketball coach for five seasons at Timberlake, guiding the Tigers to their first state tourney berth in school history in 2013. His record at Timberlake was 57-60.

Previously, he coached two seasons at Tekoa-Oakesdale, going 30-20 and leading that program to a third-place finish at state in his second year there.

Hanna, 43, stressed that he was not asked to resign.

“I was not asked to step down by the administration,” said Hanna, a real estate agent off and on for the past 15 years. “They were fully supportive. If anything, the administration has had my back. The last couple of years, they’ve been great.

“It’s been a challenging four years, and it’s taken its toll on me, (and) my family. I’m at peace with my decision and ready to move forward with the next chapter in my life.

“I really really wish the best for whoever takes over. The kids there are fantastic; I couldn’t ask for a better group of kids, top to bottom, varsity to JV to freshman.

“It’s very important that people understood what I stand for. I’m high on academics, I’m high on character. To me, there’s more than basketball. ... dealing with adversity, how to grow as a person ... ”

Hanna said up until a couple of days ago, after the team banquet earlier this week, he planned to return for a fifth season at Coeur d’Alene. But after meeting with an administrator and learning some parent unrest was still out there, Hanna tendered his letter of resignation Friday morning.

“When I learned that information I just realized, I don’t want to fight any more,” Hanna said. “It’s been four years of challenges. I don’t blame anybody. I thought we were past having to look over my shoulder.”

He referenced the poem, “The Man In The Glass,” which reads in part, “The fellow whose verdict counts most in life, is the man staring back from the glass.”

Hanna, who attended West Linn High outside Portland, played two years of basketball and four years of baseball at Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore. After coaching at Tekoa-Oakesdale, he got out of coaching to start a family. He returned some 10 years ago as a volunteer assistant at Lakeland, before landing the Timberlake job.