The roster before the season looked strong enough to be the best in Jim Fairweather’s five seasons.

There was an offense with enough power and speed, and a pitching staff with two starters who threw around 90 mph.

But one starter fell ineligible and the other, Collin Monagle, didn’t start a game because of weakness in his right shoulder.

Senior Tyler Sartor said Fairweather had a simple message for the team: Deal with it.

The Wolves did just that, and advanced to state for the second time in three years, winning the Narrows League Bridge Division along the way. For those reasons, Fairweather is the Port Orchard Independent’s coach of the year.

“He brought the team together with they way he overcame the crisis of losing our two top dogs,” Sartor said. “To make it to state with what we had was amazing to me.”

Fairweather said he hasn’t changed much about the program that produced three state championships under Elton Goodwin from 1976-2003. He credits the players for the team’s success.

“We work hard, we drill hard and we get after these guys,” said Fairweather, who played and coached under Goodwin. “We try to school them in this game … these guys bought in. That’s why we were so successful.”

With a pitching staff whose top starter, Adam Douty, threw around 75 mph, South didn’t dominate opponents on the mound — the Wolves only had three shutouts — but they were good enough to keep the team in the game. In a March 24 game against Central Kitsap, Todd Dalrymple hit a walk-off home run over the left-field fence.

“That was a good turning point,” Fairweather said. “It showed that we could win a quality game.”

Fairweather has good company among South coaches who took over a program after competing for the Wolves as a student. Chad Nass coaches wrestling and Joanne Warren, track and field.

“There are quite a few things that Coach Goodwin did that I liked,” Fairweather said. “That’s why I came back here.”

He considered the coaches he played for — Ed Fisher (football), Jim Conn and Doug Green (basketball) and Goodwin (baseball) — as mentors. Fairweather sustained a knee injury at South that curtailed his playing career — he tried out for legendary Washington State baseball coach Bobo Brayton — and decided his goal was to eventually return to his alma mater.

“I wanted to give back to a place that was pretty good to me,” he said.

The transition also has featured its challenges.

He mentioned some external factors, such as dealing with parents, as the most difficult part of his job, and he wasn’t prepared for that when he took over the program.

Fairweather, who teaches social studies and sociology at South, said his three children and wife, Nancy, also make sacrifices for him because of the time commitment involved with coaching.

Despite those issues, he relishes the opportunity to lead the Wolves.

“I love baseball,” he said. “I’m passionate about this game and I like kids just as well. It’s two really good things that make this game a lot of fun.”

Sartor, a senior who started at shortstop for the Wolves, said Fairweather is competitive and “always has an edge to him,” but he also relates to his players.

“He really cares about us,” Sartor said. “I think a lot of people honor that.”

Fairweather said he tries to emphasize that in the classroom and on the field. In addition to attending other sporting events at the school, he makes a point to show up at other events, such as musical and theater performances.

“If I have them in class, I want them to know that they matter to me,” he said. “There’s a lot of great kids who aren’t involved in athletics.”

Sartor said Fairweather’s guidance has been invaluable on and off the field.

“Coach Fairweather has meant a lot in my life,” he said. “He’s really always positive and if you need someone to go to, he’s always there.”