I was born here in Washington State at JBLM. I am a proud Puyallup High School Alumni and graduated as a 3-sport athlete; football, basketball, and baseball.
My plan was to attend the University of Washington and play baseball. After breaking my foot, my plans changed and I have been in love with coaching ever since.
I started teaching at PHS in 2014 and I currently teach AP Statistic and Algebra 2.
I graduated from the University of Washington Seattle where I obtained my Bachelor of Science, majoring in mathematics, and a Masters in Teaching.
I coached Junior Varsity Girl's Basketball from 2014-2018 at Puyallup High School, Assistant Coach for Varsity Girl's Softball 2018-Current, and I was the Head Coach for
Girls Basketball at Fife High school for the 2019/2020 season. I took over the Puyallup High School program in 2021. Coaching is my passion!
I am married to my wife, Taylor. She is my biggest supporter. We have two daughters, Kinley & Kenna!
Katie joined us in 2022 after a year of head coaching at Emerald Ridge High School and a few years volunteering with the Rogers program as well. She spent many years prior coaching youth rec league teams after starting her coaching career as the assistant varsity coach at Rogers High School in the late 2000s.
Katie grew up in Moxee, Wa and has been playing basketball since 3rd grade! Played her college years at Pacific Lutheran University. After which she headed to Arizona for grad school , where she earned her Doctorate in Physical Therapy. She previously worked in PT for 13 years before switching gears to start teaching Sports Medicine at PHS in 2021.
She lives in Puyallup with her husband and dog Murph. They enjoy traveling and spending time on their boat fishing for salmon!
Coach Olson grew up in Vancouver, Washington graduating from Hudson's Bay HS (Go Eagles!) in 1990 and then attended Pacific Lutheran University (Go Lutes!) graduating in 1994 with Bachelor's Degree and again in 1995 with a Master's in Teaching. Coach Olson was influenced by the late Frosty Westering to follow his passion in the realm of Coaching. He spent the next 19 years coaching HS basketball at Decatur HS, 5 years as an Assistant Coach and 14 years as the Head Coach. Coach Olson then moved to Auburn Riverside for the last 7 years.
Some Highlights of Coach Olson's time as an Assistant at Decatur include 3 out of 5 years at the State Tournament highlighted by reaching the State Championship game in 1996. Coach Olson had a great run as the Head Coach at Decatur, qualifying for the State Playoffs 6 consecutive years between 2007-2012. During this time the Gators were regarded as one of the top programs in the State. Some highlights include 2007 WCD Champions, 2008 State Semifinalist, 2011 WCD Runner Up, a 15 game winning streak in 2012 and 3 SPSL Championships. At Auburn Riverside, Coach Olson set school records for wins in 2014, 2015, and again in 2020 which included a 10 game winning streak.
Coach Olson is honored to be the next Head Basketball Coach at The Puyallup High School, a school with a rich tradition of athletic excellence and community pride. "Puyallup Basketball will strive to be a great representation of our school, alumni, and community. We will Play Hard, Play Together, and Play to Win."
Coach Olson's greatest support comes from his family, arguably the best that there is. Wife Monique and twins Alessandra and Andrew, currently sophomores at Fife High School. Alessandra plays soccer and runs track, Andrew plays basketball and baseball. Both are great student athletes and make their parents very proud. Coach also is so lucky to have such great parents, Dick and Patty Olson, and parents-in-law, Vince and Marci Pecchia.
Go Viks!
