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Vance Alan Peterson

Wednesday, July 19, 2006 2:10 AM MDT

ENCAMPMENT -- Services for Encampment teacher and coach Vance Alan Peterson, 37, will be held Saturday, July 22, 2006, at 10 a.m. at the Encampment School with Pastor Glen Murray and Fr. Doug Wassinger of St. John's Episcopal Church officiating. Burial will be Monday at 1 p.m. at the Upton Cemetery in Upton.

He died July 16, 2006, at University Hospital in Denver.

He was born in Riverton on June 20, 1969, to Leslie and Carolyn Peterson. His family later relocated to the family ranch in Upton. In high school he earned All-State honors in basketball and wrestling. He went on to play basketball at Eastern Wyoming College. He then transferred to Dana College and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in education from Black Hills State University.

It was during his student teaching experience in Newcastle that he met his future wife, Janice Mates. They were married in Sheridan on June 8, 1998, and began their family two years later. He taught and coached in Encampment from 1992 to 2006. To those who knew him best, he was one of the good guys and a true friend.

Next week he was to serve as head coach for the South Boys Wyoming All Star Basketball Team. He had been selected as Three Trails Conference Boys Basketball Coach of the Year twice, was a member of the Wyoming Coaches Association and of the state and national activity directors’ associations.

Together, he and his wife were raising a daughter, Noelle Autumn, 5, and son, Dalton Alan, 4.

During the past year he taught other life lessons that spread beyond his family. He guided his Tiger basketball team to a winning season, to a conference championship, to the first state tournament berth the boys had seen in years and there to the podium to pick up the third-place trophy.

He was sustained by belief in a Jim Valvano statement. “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” He, family and friends wore blue wrist bands with that motto as he made a year-long journey demonstrating heart, desire and poise.

He is survived by his children, Noelle and Dalton and his wife of Encampment; his mother, Carolyn Peterson and grandmother, Marian Gilmer, both of Upton; his brother, David Peterson and his wife and two nieces, all of Gillette; his aunt and uncle of Laramie and an extended family of friends, coworkers and fellow coaches.

He was preceded in death by his father, Leslie Peterson.

Coach's death hits home at all-star game By PATRICK SCHMIEDT

For four years, Jason Kraft worked under the system of his basketball coach, Vance Peterson.

When the duo was paired together again, this time for the Wyoming Coaches Association North-South All-Star Game, Kraft was excited.

"I was looking forward to playing for him one more time," Kraft said earlier this week.

On Saturday at Swede Erickson Thunderbird Gymnasium, Kraft did not run his old coach's system. Instead, in a 73-57 loss to the North squad, Kraft tried to work in the system of another coach from another school.

For Kraft, it was yet another reminder that his coach was gone.

Peterson, who led Kraft and Encampment to a 24-3 record in 2006 and was nominated to coach in the WCA's all-star game, died July 16 in Denver from complications of lung and liver cancer.

On Saturday in Casper, the coach was remembered and his family recognized. Peterson's widow, Janice, was presented with a bouquet of flowers and her former husband's WCA coaching shirt. Peterson's two children, 5-year-old Noelle and 4-year-old Dalton, were each presented with a basketball signed by members of the all-star basketball teams.

Each player on Peterson's South squad wore blue wristbands with the quote, "Don't ever give up!" Peterson adopted the phrase from late college basketball coach Jim Valvano, who died from cancer in 1993.

Clint Bromley, Peterson's assistant, filled in during the all-star week and took Peterson's spot on the bench Saturday. Peterson asked Bromley to do so just three days before he died.

"The hope was to get him healthy enough to have him here this weekend," Bromley said. "(The all-star week) was something he was really looking forward to, and he was disappointed there was a lot of setbacks."

Although Peterson was visibly fatigued during the state tournament in March, Kraft said the coach's demeanor -- quiet, yet confident -- never changed.

"He was always a pretty laid-back guy," said Kraft, who was a pallbearer at Peterson's funeral in Encampment last week. "He never yelled at us, unless he thought we needed it ... unless we were doing something way wrong."

Bromley also attended Peterson's funeral and said the turnout was impressive. He also said, though, that the town is only beginning to heal.

"Community-wide, kids especially, kids on his team, were taking it pretty hard," Bromley said. "Some of 'em won't realize what we lost until the start of the school year, or the start of the (basketball) season."

Before Dalton Peterson was presented with his signed basketball on Saturday, WCA all-star director Grant Patik asked him to show the crowd the post-up move Vance had taught him. He did just that -- feet wide, arm extended, eyes on the ball. Patik completed the pass, and Dalton immediately went into the "triple-threat" offensive position. After the ceremony, Dalton high-fived each player and coach on both all-star teams.

Peterson's Passion Carries On

Posted by Patrick Schmeitz on 07/19/06 10:59 PM to Sports Goulash, Basketball

I knew Vance Peterson. That is, I knew him from the three days his Encampment team spent at the state basketball tournament last March. I knew him from the story he told me, from the perhaps 15 minutes we spent talking and the three hours I had the chance to watch him work.

Vance was 37 when he died earlier this week from complications of lung and liver cancer, a disease that struck a healthy, vibrant man as he was starting to hit his prime. He was tall and lanky — it was only after his death that I learned he was a collegiate basketball player — and he carried himself confidently. While it was obvious he was fatigued during the state tournament, it was also obvious that he had a passion for coaching. He was always focused, rarely frustrated and unusually calm.

He wasn’t a “legend” or a “savior” in the traditional athletic sense. Encampment’s boys basketball team made state just once in his eight years leading the program. His career record with the Tigers was 78-97.

He saved the dynamite for his final season. Last year, the Tigers finished 24-3 and finished third at the Class 1A state tournament.

Nobody cares. Not now. Not in Encampment, where wins and losses on the court are much less important than the loss suffered this week.

Since hearing the news Tuesday morning, and writing the story in Wednesday’s Star-Tribune, I have struggled to wrap my head around what happened — and wondered why the death of a man I knew for 15 minutes would affect me as it has.

I still don’t have an answer, but I know, now more than ever, that it’s really not important who wins and who loses, who succeeds and who falters. What is important is who you reach, who you touch, who you teach and who you love. Concentrate on that, and the rest will follow. That’s what Vance helped teach me.

Coach's death hits home at all-star game By PATRICK SCHMIEDT

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