Bill Beattie, who coached for 35 years at Tumwater, Olympia and Elma, announces retirement

Following 35 seasons guiding three successful high school football programs in Washington, longtime coach Bill Beattie announced his retirement Sunday evening.

Beattie, who spent long head coaching stints at Elma, Olympia and finally his alma mater Tumwater, posted a message on social media reflecting on his memorable career.

“Each school was a different experience and I am forever thankful for those players, coaches, schools and communities,” the message says. “They all were extraordinary times for us as a family. I feel blessed to have served these programs and feel that it is time to call it a career.”

Beattie played high school football at Tumwater for four seasons from 1974-77, and went on to play in college at Central Washington, spending five seasons in Ellensburg from 1978-82 before returning to Thurston County and beginning his coaching career.

He coached high school football for 40 total seasons, beginning as an assistant on Tumwater’s staff in 1983. He spent two seasons with the T-Birds before moving on to Tenino as an assistant coach for the following three.

Beattie began his head coaching career at Elma in 1988, remembers being welcomed in by the staff, and led the Eagles’ program through the next seven seasons.

“Just that very first year was just such an eye-opening experience and memorable,” he said.

In his fifth season with the program in 1992, Beattie guided the Eagles to the 1A state bracket and the school’s first state playoff victory in more than a decade with a thrilling first-round win over South Whidbey.

“They went ahead with like 50 seconds to go in the game, and they kicked it deep and a kid named Mark Spencer ran it all the way back for a touchdown to win the first (state) playoff game in a long time down there,” Beattie said. “That was pretty awesome.”

Elma also reached the 1A state playoffs the following two seasons, before Beattie took the head coaching job at Olympia in 1995.

Beattie spent the next 22 seasons with the Bears, leading the program to the state playoffs in 1997 for the first time since the school’s championship run in 1984, ending a drought that lasted more than a dozen seasons.

“I know it had been a while, and to come back … years later and to be winning league championships and being able to participate in the state playoffs was really cool,” Beattie said. “That community there just did such a fantastic job of rallying behind us.”

Olympia reached the state playoffs nine times with Beattie leading the program, including advancing as far as the 4A quarterfinals in three seasons and the semifinals in 2005. In his longest stint as a head coach, Beattie compiled a 164-63 record with the Bears.

“It was such a long span of watching that program and the kids grow,” Beattie said, remembering how the program evolved through the early 2000s and beyond.

“I think at one point we had 178 kids out for football, and that was probably one of the proudest moments. Just seeing so many kids wanting to be out there was just exciting and fun.”

After more than two decades at Olympia, Beattie returned to Tumwater ahead of the 2017 season as the successor to legendary coach Sid Otton — also Beattie’s coach during his high school career — who retired following the T-Birds’ season in 2016 as the all-time winningest high school football coach in state history.

“Just to have that opportunity to come back and be a part of Tumwater football again, where I was lucky enough to learn all of this stuff and be part of it, that was really, really special to finish out my career there,” Beattie said.

Beattie spent the final six seasons of his coaching career with the T-Birds, taking the program to the state playoffs in each of the five years they were played, and to the 2A championship game in three of those seasons.

He guided Tumwater to the sixth state championship win in program history in 2019, when the T-Birds completed a perfect 14-0 season with a 48-34 win over Steilacoom in the 2A title game at Sparks Stadium in Puyallup.

“I’m so excited for these kids, these coaches, and this fan base has been absolutely fantastic,” Beattie said that evening. “Tumwater has had a lot of success over the years. It started with Coach Otton bringing this thing up in 1974.

“Just to be a part of this again and the tradition that just keeps carrying on — I’m so happy for these players, these coaches, everyone here.”

Beattie retired from teaching last school year after nearly four decades, but continued on coaching this fall. He retires from coaching after leading the T-Birds to a 9-2 record and 12th consecutive trip to the state playoffs in his final season.

“I just feel like this is the right time,” Beattie said. “I feel like the program is in a real good place. I think there’s a lot of good returning players, there’s a great nucleus of coaches still there.”

Beattie said he feels good about “continuing what Coach Otton established” these past six years with the program as he begins his next chapter.

“It’s a great time for someone to come in and take over and continue the T-Bird way,” he said.

Now 63, Beattie retires after his 35 seasons as a head coach as one of 11 in state history to reach 250 career wins.

In the seven seasons at Elma, 22 at Olympia and six at Tumwater, Beattie compiled a 259-106 record, which also includes 16 league championships, 17 state playoffs appearances, three state title game appearances and the 2A championship in 2019.

“It says a lot about the assistants I’ve had over the years,” Beattie said. “At all three schools have just been fantastic. Those (coaches) are the heart and soul of your program, so I’ve been very lucky that way.”

Beattie — who coached at the 4A, 3A, 2A and 1A levels, and against 97 different programs from every classification in Washington, as well as three schools in Oregon — noted the importance of the relationships made along the way as key to a long and successful career as a coach.

In his message on social media, Beattie continues on to thank family members, including his wife, Heidi, and his sons, Matt and Andrew, who he has coached and coached alongside, and family for support throughout his career.

He also thanks the coaches who he has met, competed against and built friendships with along the way, as well as players, staff members and the community.

“It’s all about the relationships,” Beattie said. “Get to know the kids, get to know the parents, the staff, your coaches. That’s what’s special.”