Leiss returns as Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach

By MARK NELKE 

Sports editor 

Coeur d’Alene High is bringing back a familiar face to coach the Vikings’ boys basketball team. 

Kent Leiss, who coached Coeur d’Alene’s boys for nearly 10 seasons (2003-13), was hired this week to coach the Vikings again. 

“I miss coaching,” said Leiss, who taught one more year at Coeur d’Alene High after his coaching stint ended. He’s in his 11th year as a teacher at Sandpoint High, and was the Bulldog boys basketball coach his first four years there.

“I’m going to retire from teaching in six weeks, and I have a condo in Post Falls, and I always knew I was moving back there,” said Leiss, 61. “I always thought it would be fun to coach and not have to teach, and devote all your time to that. And I also think Coeur d’Alene has a chance to be good, with some of the returning players.” 

Leiss replaces Jon Adams, who was fired in January, late in his fifth season coaching his alma mater. Adams recently was named head boys basketball coach, and head of the national-level team, at Liberty Launch Academy, a prep school in Liberty Lake. 

Leiss was 140-91 at Coeur d’Alene when he resigned late in the 2013 season, following allegations by parents of verbal abuse to players. 

Since then, in addition to coaching the Bulldog boys (where he was 24-64 in four seasons), Leiss also worked with Sandpoint players on an individual basis, and six years ago coached an AAU team of Coeur d’Alene area players. 

At Coeur d’Alene, Leiss guided the Vikings to state four times, including a runner-up finish in 2008. 

Asked why he chose to come back to Coeur d’Alene High after the way his first stint there ended, “I didn’t (want to) for a long time,” Leiss said. “But I have relationships with (football) coach (Shawn) Amos; he was very supportive of me coming to do this; support from some people in the community that were encouraging me to do this. I thought it was a good time — the one or two people I may have had an issue with, how it ended, they’re gone. I would say for the longest time I would not have considered this.” 

Leiss also said having family in the area was a factor. 

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“John Naccarato is a big reason why I’m doing this,” Leiss said of his former varsity assistant at Coeur d’Alene. “I don’t think I would have done this if he wouldn’t have agreed to help me ... he’s going to be my varsity assistant.” 

After Leiss left, Naccarato was a varsity assistant under boys coach Kurt Lundblad, then under girls coach Nicole Symons, for a few years. He’s been out of coaching the past few years. 

“He mentioned to me a few times this spring, ‘if you want to do this, I’ll help,’” Leiss said. “I said I’m not going to do this if you’re not going to help me; we agreed we were going to do this together.” 

Leiss didn’t apply for the job at first, during the initial three-week window in which it was open. 

He came down with influenza A, then pneumonia, during that time. 

“So that entire three weeks, I couldn’t wrap my brain around anything but trying to survive my illness,” Leiss said. 

Shortly after that, the job was reopened, and after some encouragement from people around him, he put his name in. 

Leiss was offered and accepted the job on Thursday, and has already been on the phone with folks talking about scheduling and summer ball, etc. 

He’s hoping to meet with his players sometime next week. 

Leiss, who played at Williston (N.D.) State and Dickinson (N.D.) State, coached for nine seasons at Climax-Fisher High in Minnesota, then coached five seasons at Flathead High in Kalispell before coming to Coeur d’Alene. 

In 28 seasons as a head coach, Leiss has a record of 359-288. 

“I just took 6-7 years off (from coaching), so I should be refreshed and ready to go,” Leiss said. “Because I was tired when I quit, but taking this time off, I’m ready to go.”