From my perspective, high school coaches shouldnt be judged by just the win column. With society so hellbent on who scores more points, the juxtaposition between my view and the masses is not only stark, but unfortunate.

The true measure of what makes a high school athletics coach not just good but great is the level of integrity, character and maturity they are able to instill in all the athletes. With that said, consider Kelly Allen, now the former coach of the Umatilla Vikings football team, one of the greatest coaches around.

When I had heard Allen wasnt going to continue to run the Vikings football program anymore, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. At first I heard he had been fired, but upon further review, he made the decision on his own and cited family obligations. Thats completely and totally understandable, considering he realizes his wife becomes a football widow every fall.

He told the team at its awards ceremony Thursday of his plans.

Theres no doubt coaching any sport at the high school level is both time consuming and emotionally draining. The passion Allen displayed not just in games, but also in practice, is something not many coaches can contest with. Whenever I talked with Allen during the tumultuous 0-9 campaign of 2010, through all the injury and consistency struggles his team had gone through, he always brought the discussion back to one simple trait: character.

He talked about how his players never gave up and always competed until the final whistle. He talked about the positives of the games, even if they were few. And perhaps more importantly, he talked about how he would never give up on his guys because he respected them.

Everything was a team activity to him everything. He didnt pick captains at the beginning of the year, but rather had the team select four lieutenants to help facilitate the leadership process. They did more than strut out to the 50 yardline and call the coin flip before games. They were the coaches on the field, as the saying goes, and embodied every bit of the somehwat-cliche distinction. The lieutenants were an extension of Allen, and Allen was the braintrust behind the whole idea.

Allen also set aside practice time for his players to listen to guest speakers. The topics were a hodgepodge, but all related to becoming a better person off the field. There arent many coaches willing to take practice time off and sit the players down in a classroom, but from Allens point of view, the athletes needed to hear the message.

Covering the Vikings this past fall and being able to interact with the players was great.

When I introduced myself, I was greeted with, Nice to meet you, Sir, by all of them. Im 25 years old, so sir isnt something I hear very much. When I did it caught me off-guard, but I soon realized it was a respect issue that Coach Allen engrained into his players. Its those little things people notice, and Allen understood that.

With the decision made to resign to spend more time with his family he has sons ages two and four Allen will remain at the school in his classroom-teaching role. I want to make that distinction because he was also a teacher on the football field, and as over-used as the mantra is, he seriously taught his players life skills as much as he taught them about football.

He also said he hasnt ruled out a possible return to the gridiron, once he is able to spend time with his sons and raise them with his wife.

He went 20-18 overall in his four seasons, earning a spot in the Class 3A quarterfinals in 2008, finishing the season 9-2. He went 6-2 in 2007 and 5-4 last season.

Plenty of the younger players tasted varsity competition, which should carry over into next season and help out the next head football coach at Umatilla.

Coach Allen, I wish you and your family the best. Youve done a great job not just teaching the game of football, but teaching your athletes what it means to be upstanding, contributing members of the population.

Youll be missed.

Billy would love to hear from you. Write him at bgates@hermistonherald.com.