Paul Patton, longtime resident and teacher in the Sisters School District, will take over as the new head girls basketball coach. Patton has been the assistant coach the past two years, under two different head coaches, and when the position opened he decided to apply. Patton was notified this past summer he’d gotten the job.

Patton has taught in the Sisters School District since 1995, at the Flex School, Sisters Middle School, and currently at Sisters High School.

Sports has always been a big part of his life. He played football and basketball all four years at Sweet Home High School, where he graduated in 1983. He attended Western Oregon University, where he played one year of basketball. The following four years he was a defensive end on the Wolves football team.

Patton went back to Sweet Home and was the assistant football coach for two years and also the freshman boys basketball coach.

He married his wife, Julie, in the spring of 1994 and they moved to Redmond, where Julie had secured a job. Patton subbed for that year, and was the assistant varsity boys basketball coach at Redmond High School.

In 1995, Patton was hired as the head instructor for the Flex School in Sisters and taught there for four years. During that time he was the assistant varsity football coach under Bob Macauley, and was also the head girls basketball coach, and the basketball coach for both the boys and girls at the middle school.

The Pattons moved from Redmond to Sisters in 2002, after both he and his wife were hired by Sisters School District.

Patton continued to coach boys and girls basketball at the middle school, stayed as the assistant football coach, and added boys lacrosse to his coaching repertoire. For the past six years Patton has been the head coach for the boys lacrosse program.

Coaching varsity girls basketball has brought him full circle, from his first years back in ’95 and ’96 and now again in 2021. He knows the players on the team and is excited about the program’s future.

“I knew that Carl (Click) was just filling in as an interim coach for one year while the District searched for a more permanent coach,” said Patton. “So during this last year I decided I’d like to apply for the job. I’ve worked with the girls for two years and decided I’d like to try to make the program a positive environment where the girls enjoy playing the game. I would also like to increase participation.

“I want our program to be athlete-centered, where players have a voice and ownership in what our culture will look like,” added Patton. “We currently have a good group of multi-sport athletes, and I’m hoping for a roster of over 20 so we can have a JV and a varsity squad, which is something we haven’t had the last two years.”

Patton told The Nugget he hopes to implement a fast-paced, full-court style of play that presses and has a lot of fast breaks.

“With this style of play we’ll need a lot of girls,” said Patton. “I’d like to see 10 to 12 girls in the game every night we play.”