Over the years sports fans have read countless articles about "Coaching Trees." A "Coaching Tree" occurs when several assistant coaches from a highly successful program are hired themselves to be head coaches. Whether it be in college or professional athletics, this phenomenon happens quite often and each are very unique in their own separate way.

I was reminded about another unique "Tree" close to home last Saturday morning on our Coaches Corner Show, heard 9 am Saturdays, on KGYM AM-FM.

Washington boys track coach Bill Pinckney was one of my guests and during our conversation we talked about the recent announcement of Jason Edwards being named girls basketball coach at Jefferson.

Edwards was a former athlete at Washington and coached alongside Pinckney on the Washington football staff under then head coach Paul James, now the athletic director for the Warriors. Edwards is in his third year as a counselor at Jefferson, but had remained an assistant coach in the Washington girls basketball program for head coach Frank Howell.

We were discussing how proud Pinckney and the rest of the faculty at Washington were about the appointment of Edwards to a head coaching position after putting in his dues as an assistant. It was at this moment we both had the revelation that we were onto a Metro "Coaching Tree."

The Washington Warrior football teams of 2002 and 2003 were two of the best squads in recent Metro football history.

The '03 team made it all the way to the championship game before falling to West Des Moines Valley. It was a team that included several very good future Division I players.

That team not only had terrific personnel, but had terrific coaches as well, led by James. We were reminded of that on Saturday morning when we talked about Edwards being named a head coach. Edwards was a member of that Washington football staff.

Also on that staff were Mo Blue and Brian White, who have moved on to bigger things. Blue was named this year as co-head coach of the Washington boys track team along with Pinckney. In addition, Blue also is the defensive coordinator for the Warrior football team.

Speaking of defensive coordinators, White fills that role at Kennedy High School, as well as his assignment as boys track coach for the Cougars that started this spring.

All three of these men played vital roles on those great Warrior football teams of a decade ago.

I was reminded of a Coaches Corner program from back in 2003 when Coach James invited his entire staff down to our show on a Saturday morning during that great run in the playoffs that fall. Looking around the room there was a great deal of coaching talent and savvy in the room.

It's great to see all that hard work paying off for those gentlemen. It's also great to see that we have uncovered a "Coaching Tree" right here in the Metro area, the Paul James Coaching Tree is what we can call it, and it is starting to take root for a long time to come.

(Scott Unash is the sports and program director at KGYM-AM 1600 (FM 106.3). He is a six-time winner of the Iowa Broadcast News Association play-by-play Announcer of the Year Award. Scott and Mark Dukes co-host the Gym Class weekdays from 3-4 p.m. on KGYM-AM 1600 and FM-106.3)