Longtime Mariposa coach leads team to first section title game in his final season.

Trace DeSandres is not usually one to get emotional. He’s not a crier.

In fact, the 26 years Robn DeSandres has been married to the Mariposa High girls basketball coach, she has only seen him cry a handful of times.

That was up until this past year. When the thought of finally coaching in a Sac-Joaquin Section championship game comes up, DeSandres, 60, can’t hide his emotions. It’s something he’s wanted for a long time.

DeSandres will finally get that opportunity on Saturday when Mariposa (25-1) plays Argonaut (22-8) for the Division V championship at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento at 10 a.m..

“It’s my last year as a coach. I can’t tell you the emotions I’m experiencing,” DeSandres said.

A Basketball Life

DeSandres has been coaching basketball in one way or another for 39 years.

He started as the seventh grade basketball coach at Rivera Middle School in Merced in 1979. He then was a student manager for Fresno State men’s basketball team from 1981-83, working with Bulldogs coaches Boyd Grant and then assistant Ron Adams, who is now Steve Kerr’s assistant with the Golden State Warriors.

DeSandres spent 11 years coaching at Yosemite Middle School in Fresno.

He’s spent the last 23 years at Mariposa. DeSandres assisted Mariposa boys coach Loyd Hobby for two years before taking over the program for the Grizzlies legendary coach.

“The first time I walked into the Mariposa gym I was 7 years old,” DeSandres said. “There was a crazy man in there named Loyd Hobby coaching basketball. I went to use the restroom and made a left turn instead of a right and I ended up in the locker room. I heard words that day that I had never heard before and I was hooked. That was 1967.”

Under DeSandres, the Mariposa boys went 232-131 in 13 seasons, winning seven Southern League championships. DeSandres stepped away for a year after a health scare.

DeSandres suffered a transient ischemic attack (TIA), which is a brief stroke-like attack, after a game during the 2010-2011 season.

“We finished a game in Summerville and I didn’t feel good,” DeSandres said. “I couldn’t sleep right. We ended up going to a hospital in Fresno and they did a million tests on me. I stopped coaching for one year.”

A New Coaching Chapter

DeSandres took over the girls program the following year and has compiled a 146-57 record, including four straight SL championships.

“DeSandres is exactly what it means to be a Grizzly,” said senior Milea Appling, who is a four-year starter and leading scorer this season. “He has so much pride and he loves all of us like we’re his daughters. He makes every team feel like family.

“He’s an amazing coach and not just because of basketball. He’s like your dad.”

The Grizzlies had come close to reaching the section title game, including losing in the semifinals the last three years. To finally make it in his final season as a coach is overwhelming.

Coaching on the Big Stage

“Honestly, it means the world to him,” Appling said. “After we won the other night he was emotional. He almost broke down. He could see the emotion in our eyes, especially the seniors. This is the moment we’ve been waiting for, especially me and Taylor (Vegely) because we’re both four-year players.”

Last year, on the way to a semifinal game in Colfax, DeSandres stopped at the University of the Pacific. He brought the team into the Spanos Center, which was the site for the section championship game two days later. DeSandres wanted to show where they would be playing if they won.

“He wanted us to imagine playing in a big arena,” Appling said. “He showed us where we would be sitting. He broke down then, too.”

“I broke down and cried,” DeSandres said. “They probably thought I had gone off my rocker. It’s just so important. I can’t explain how much I wanted to coach those kids in that arena.”

Despite all his success, DeSandres has never coached in a section title game.

Now DeSandres will get the opportunity to coach his team from tiny Mariposa in one of the most spectacular basketball palaces in the NBA: the Sacramento Kings’ Golden 1 Center.

The Grizzlies are trying to win their first girls basketball section championship since 1980.

A Grizzly for life

DeSandres has had plenty of career highlights during his coaching career, including getting to coach his son Tim. Although leaving basketball behind will be tough, he’s looking forward to finally having Thanksgiving and Christmas free to spend with his wife.

After spending 23 years at the high school, Mariposa has a special place in his heart.

“I love the community,” he said. “I love the high school. When I die, I want Grizzly written on something. It’s been a very big part of my life.”

He’d like to end his career by bringing home a blue section banner and his players want to give him one last coaching memory.

“DeSandres is our hype man for our school,” Appling said. “He literally bleeds green and gold. He has everyone spelling Grizzlies at our rallies. We know this means so much to him.”