Washington High School Girls Basketball Head Coach Doug Light reached a major coaching career milestone on Tuesday evening, November 23.
Light reached 600 career victories with the Lady Jays’ 43-30 home win over Pacific on Tuesday, November 23. He was recognized for his milestone prior to Washington’s home game against Union on Tuesday, November 30, where Washington Activities Director Bill Deckelman presented him with the game ball, which was engraved to mark his 600th career victory.
“First of all, you have to be in coaching for a long time to get 600 wins and be at places with successful programs. To have success, you have to have good players and good assistant coaches. I’ve had all of those things,” Light said. “I’ve been fortunate that I’ve been able to work well with the boys programs at all the schools I’ve been to. I’ve learned a lot from those boys coaches like Dave Neier at Borgia, David Fox at Jefferson City, Josh Buffington at Helias, and Grant Young here at Washington.”
The victory over Pacific gave Light a career record of 600 wins and 334 losses in 934 career games. During his coaching career covering 37 years at Union, Borgia, Jefferson City, Helias and Washington, Light has reached the Final Four four times with two third-place finishes. His teams have won 11 district championships and lost in the state quarterfinals twice to the eventual state champion. Light has also served as athletic director at Borgia, Parkway South and Helias.
“We were 111-19 in a five-year period when I was at Union with two Final Fours and two trips to sectionals. We also went to the Final Four at Borgia and Jefferson City, and just barely missed going at Helias,” Light said. “We always wanted to come back to Washington. We love it here. We really missed it. It’s great to be at Washington High School.
“If you think about the girls game, we used the same ball as the boys until the 1986-87 season, and never thought anything of it. Now it would be a bigger deal. The three-point line came in during the 1987-88 season. That obviously has made a big difference in the game.”
Light was inducted to the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2011. He has been with the Washington High School girls basketball program for seven years. This is his fifth season as head coach.
“It’s been a great career, and I think I have at least a couple years left. I’ve learned so much everywhere I’ve been and have made some great friends,” Light said. “I thought I knew basketball and then I went to Jefferson City and it’s a whole new level with what David Fox taught me about how to prepare and how to make adjustments.”
Light has been in education for 46 years and has been a head coach for 37 years. His wife, Sabrina, has been with him nearly every step of the way.
“We’ve been married for 43 years,” Light said. “My three daughters all played for me. It was neat coaching them.”
Doug Light
Doug Light is presented the game ball from his 600th win from WHS Activities Director Bill Deckelman. The ball was engraved to mark the milestone.
Doug Light with his current 2021-22 Washington High School varsity girls basketball team following his 600th career victory.