Cleveland's Dan Jurdy is One-of-a-Kind
From championship banners to quiet victories at Cleveland High, Jurdy's journey is a testament to a lifetime spent in service of local high school athletes.
SEATTLE – Dan Jurdy walked into the office at Cleveland High School. Just minutes after the announcements wrapped and students were about to be released for lunch, the school’s athletic director had something he needed to share with the whole school.
It couldn’t wait, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He made an “executive decision” because he needed the Eagles to know that the baseball team had rallied to put a “whoopin’” on Franklin, winning in extra innings.
If there’s one thing to be said about Jurdy – who, in his 70s, is as devoted as ever to the student-athletes he works with – it’s that he cares.
It’s been almost 20 years since I first met Jurdy. I was working on a story about Rainier Beach graduate Attrail Snipes, who was a star on the Bakersfield College football team, and Jurdy is as helpful now as he was then – a fixture in the local sports community.
As we sat in his office, just off Cleveland’s lunchroom, we talked about a career that includes a lot of memories, too many star athletes to count, and a basketball dynasty built from the ground up.
After Rainier Beach won the state basketball championship in 2002, Jurdy was talking to former Seattle Times sportswriter Craig Smith, author of the longtime “Sideline Smitty” column.
Smitty told Jurdy to enjoy the “magic carpet ride,” because like all things, it would come to an end.
“But that ride is still going, 25 years later,” Jurdy said. At the time, Smitty suggested that Beach’s run would last a few years. Looking back on that prediction, with Rainier Beach winning its 10th basketball title this year, makes Jurdy laugh because, “that was one of the few things he was ever wrong about.”
When Jurdy was younger, he didn’t plan on being an educator. After graduating from Gonzaga Prep in Spokane, he went to Washington State to play football. Eventually, he left school and went to work as a ‘produce boy’ at Safeway.
After about a year, Jurdy looked around and thought, “Man, I can’t do this. I’ve got more in me than this.”
So he went back to school. He got his degree and kept learning. He went from being a kid who was happy just to pass to a student who wasn’t satisfied with a B.
“I recognize that God gave me opportunities, and I, at one time, kind of messed them up,” Jurdy said. “He gave me a second chance. It's my job to help every one of these kids, whether they're Beach kids or Cleveland kids. I want them to be the very best and succeed in life. That's all I care about.”
Jurdy spent years at Rainier Beach, working with basketball coach Mike Bethea as he built a powerhouse. He retired a few years ago … until Cleveland convinced him he still had more to give. And he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“I’ll be working till I’m 90,” Jurdy joked.
As a STEM-focused school, Cleveland doesn’t share the same athletic legacy as Rainier Beach. In his role, Jurdy has made it his mission to foster an environment centered on achieving personal bests.
“It's about competing and getting better,” he said. “It's almost like, for our kids, we teach them to strive for their personal best.”
The Seattle sports community has a small-town feel. Everyone knows everyone, and whether you’re a former professional athlete who’s now coaching or an athletic director like Jurdy, the goal is the same: create opportunities for high school athletes to thrive.
Whether he’s celebrating the baseball team’s extra-inning win or returning to Rainier Beach to commemorate the basketball team’s last game on its legendary home floor, Jurdy is all about the athletes – and Seattle is fortunate to have him.
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