Don Freeman coaches a player between innings of recent game in Germany.
Don Freeman, of Battle Ground, was selected last week to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association Hall of Fame’s class of 2017. Freeman, 66, has been coaching locally and globally for several decades.
Freeman’s coaching resume includes about 30 years of football and gymnastics, but is most notably filled with his baseball accomplishments. In 1979, Freeman took the reins of Prairie’s baseball program and held the position for 25 years. During his time there, the Falcons won state titles in 1986 and 1989.
“It was a big deal for us and the school to have that success at the time,” Freeman said.
Following his days at Prairie, Freeman led two other Clark County baseball programs — Heritage from 2008 to 2010 and Clark College from 2011 to 2014. At Clark College, Freeman helped resurrect the baseball program, which had not existed prior to his arrival since 1992.
Freeman has also served as a head and assistant coach for multiple USA baseball teams since 2000 and won gold, silver and bronze medals at world championship events. For the last few years, he’s been coaching teams in Germany’s premier baseball league. He is presently with the Berlin Flamingos.
Freeman is already in three other hall of fames — the Washington State Baseball Coaches Association, Washington State Gymnastics Coaches Association and Prairie High School. Upon being selected for the WIAA Hall of Fame, Freeman said he was surprised.
“I knew a friend had nominated me, but I had forgotten about it until I got the call,” Freeman said. “I think very few people go into something thinking they’re going to make the Hall of Fame at it. I was still a little surprised about it.”
Freeman said the difference between coaching high school athletics compared to collegiate or professional teams is that high school “encompasses everything.” Freeman said most of the time he was at the high school level he was coaching baseball, football and gymnastics all at once.
Freeman said another challenge to coaching high school is having patience.
“I definitely learned patience because it’s not easy,” he said. “With high school you have to develop and deal with what comes through the doors. There’s no recruiting or anything. There’s lots of coaches who do it for just a few years then get out.”
At Prairie, Freeman not only won two state titles, but also taught the game to three players who eventually played Major League Baseball. Those players include Richie Sexson, a former Seattle Mariner, Alan Embree, a World Series champion in 2004 with the Boston Red Sox, and Adam Peterson, who played for the White Sox and Padres.
“It’s just nice to know that people notice what you did for so many years,” Freeman said.
