Luke Salme

Olympia High School boys basketball head coach Luke Salme announced on Tuesday that he is leaving the Bears and has accepted the same position and an English teaching position at Adna High School.

“It is a bittersweet, but also very exciting time for our family,” said Salme in an email to OlySports.com. “These past eight years at OHS have been very special for me, and I have so many memories that will last a lifetime.”

Salme posted a 98-84 record in eight seasons at Olympia including a fourth place finish in the 4A state tournament in 2011 and a regionals berth in 2012. The Bears struggled this past season posting a 4-16 record, their worst finish since going 3-17 in 2007-08, his first season at the helm.

Salme, 36, graduated from Willapa Valley High School and played two seasons for Centralia College before moving on to Western Washington to become a teacher. Before taking over at Oly, he led Yelm to a 16-24 record in two seasons.

“My wife and I both grew up in small towns and absolutely treasured those times, and that is something we want our two young sons to experience as well,” Salme continued. “Adna is the perfect community and school for that.”

He will take over an Adna squad that went 17-6 overall and 15-3 in the 2B Central but dropped a pair of games in districts and missed regionals. Casey Dotson stepped down as the Pirates head coach in March after eight seasons.