Tumwater High School's Sid Otton was named the Seattle Seahawks and UnitedHealthcare High School Coach of the Year on December 15 shortly before the Seahawks hosted the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. Otton, who received a $2,000 grant and will be provided 20 concussion-tested helmets for Tumwater players, was also named the Seahawks' nominee for the Don Shula NFL High School Coach of the Year award, which "honors high school football coaches that display the integrity, achievement, and leadership exemplified by the winningest coach in NFL history, Don Shula."
"They did it up first class, of course," Otton said of the ceremony last Thursday. "I wasn't expecting it and I feel really honored and humbled about it. They put us in a nice little place to watch the game and it made you feel real special."
The Seahawks Coach of the Year is chosen by the Washington State Football Coaches Association, which also chooses the coaches of the week throughout the high school football season.
The winningest football coach in Washington state history with a 393-131 record, Otton retired this fall after coaching 43 of his 49 years at Tumwater, which included a 10-2 record during the 2016 season that claimed the Thunderbirds' seventh-straight conference championship. A coach at three different schools, he led the Thunderbirds to five of his six state titles as a coach, the first coming in 1987 and the most recent being in 2010.
"Some of us as a staff go back to the 70s. Working as a team and seeing the influence and impact it can have, all of that stuff kept me going," Otton said. "And to have a wife that's supporting you, of course."
Otton, who has coached players ranging from all-state selections, to his two sons and two grandsons during his coaching tenure, now plans to spend more time with family in retirement.
"Our grandkids are real special to us, so we'll be there to support and watch them."
