PREP GIRLS BASKETBALL: 'Quite the legacy here': Longtime Post Falls coach Marc Allert steps down after 32 years, 11 as head girls basketball coach

By JASON ELLIOTT

Sports writer

Sure, Post Falls brought a good-sized cheering section in its run to the state 5A girls basketball tournament.

Some fans, they were glued to the Trojans team that battled, but fell in the consolation championship game to Thunder Ridge High of Idaho Falls.

Others, they were there for Marc, just like he’d been for them.

Marc Allert, the Trojans girls basketball coach for the past 11 seasons, resigned recently. Allert coached Post Falls to state championships in 2013 and 2018, and was an assistant coach on the Trojan boys' title team in 2010.

“It’s something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a few years,” Allert said. “It’s been a year-to-year deal where I’ve gone to re-evaluate things. It’s something I’ve always loved doing, but now with the health issues, it’s just time to step away.”

Allert, 58, was diagnosed with a rare blood disorder — Amyloidosis — where proteins get into his blood and deposit ‘garbage.’

“It really affects everything I do that I don’t even think about,” Allert said. “For me, my biggest issue is my blood pressure.”

Allert added that he’d find himself feeling light-headed or dizzy at times during practices and games.

“It just wasn’t fair to the girls that I’d ask them to put all that time and energy in, when I couldn’t do it myself,” Allert said. “The timing was just kind of right.”

During the Trojans’ games at state, the Post Falls crowd had some former teammates, players and assistant coaches, as well as Allert’s family, on hand.

“It was nice for them to be there,” Allert said. “It’s nice all of them came out to support me. To be going through all of this and have all that support, and to support the team as well, it was great. My family has always been there through thick and thin, but it was nice to see some of those guys that I played with and kids I coached down there.”

Following the Thunder Ridge game, in a back hallway at Ridgevue High in Nampa, Allert chatted with Bob King, a former assistant, and his daughters Katie King and Maddie King, who played for Allert at Post Falls.

“Both Katie and Maddie kind of grew up with us because they’re the same age as my daughters (Shayna and Payton),” Allert said. “Both of them live in Boise now, but to have Bob there — and he just happened to be in Boise that weekend — it meant a lot too. We started coaching our kids together when they were in third grade. It was really special having them here.”

Mike McLean, the Post Falls boys basketball coach, recruited Allert to be an assistant on his staff when he took over the program in 2007.

“When I got the job, I was 29 years old,” McLean said. “And I think Marc was wavering on whether or not to keep coaching or not. When I asked him, it was really needing a favor. I knew then I needed someone that had been in the district and someone I could bounce ideas off of, and he’s always been honest with me. He’s probably been a cornerstone of my career. We work together each day and the way he interacts with kids is great.”

Allert remained an assistant with McLean until taking over the girls program in 2011. Allert went 177-94 as Trojan girls coach.

“He made a seamless transition between the boys and girls teams,” McLean said. “Marc’s teams always seemed like they’d run through a wall for him. He got teams to play as a group and had a few that might have overachieved a little bit. But if the game was close, I’d put my money on Marc to find a way to win that game.”

Allert, a 1981 graduate of Post Falls High, played one season at Boise State before returning home, graduating from Eastern Washington.

All told, he coached at Post Falls for 32 years.

“He was a very good basketball player,” McLean said. “He could just see the floor and was always in control of the flow of the game and got the ball into the right spot. And that carried over to the bench. He found ways to get his players shots and get the ball where they could be successful. His teams would never beat themselves, and you had to significantly beat them. The longer the game went on, the better chance he had to exploit that weakness.”

Stepping away now gives Allert the chance to enjoy the winter months.

“Part of the reason I’m stepping down is because of the disease,” Allert said. “It doesn’t look like it’s going away soon. Once I get healthy, there’s some things I want to do in the winter time. I used to ski and go snow shoeing for 32 years, and haven’t been able to do that for a long time. I’ve got all these things that I’ve missed out on, and just thought, ‘If not now, when’s the time going to come?’ It’s not like basketball is going away. I’ll just be able to sit back and be a fan now.”

Post Falls returns four players with state experience from this season for the 2022-23 season. The Trojans finished 19-9 this season. Allert took Post Falls to state six times with three trophies, including a third-place finish in 2017, and three other times lost in state play-in games.

“With Allert being a little less fiery, it kind of brought us together because it was hard for him to do much at practice,” Post Falls junior Capri Sims said. “He really pushes us in practice and tells us if we’re not going full speed, he’s telling us this isn’t how it’s going to be in games and you’re not going to get easy layups in a game.”

Senior Hanna Christensen was a three-year varsity player for Allert.

“He’s always been so supportive and there for me and all of the players,” Christensen said. “It really means a lot to have him as a coach for all these years.”

“We’ve got some good varsity and JV kids coming back,” Allert said. “And it’s going to be another battle with all of the teams within our league. I really like where we’re at and I’m proud of all the things we’ve accomplished. I’m going to miss the heck out of it and those relationships we’ve built with the players. But at some point, it’s got to stop.”

“He’s established quite the legacy here,” said Post Falls athletic director Craig Christensen, who was AD when Allert was hired as girls coach. “One of his players (Melody Kempton) was just named West Coast Conference Tournament MVP, which is great. He’s a players' coach and always put the students first. He always established good relationships with the players, and I know they all played hard for him. I don’t think you’ll find anyone that will say a bad word about him. We’ve been very lucky to have him in the program, and hate to have him go. It’s still a tough pill to swallow, but he’s making the right decision for all the right reasons.”