Kelso softball coach retires after more than 2 decades
After more than two decades as part of the Kelso high school softball program, Dean Sorensen has decided to hang up the clipboard and retire as head coach of the Lassies.
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He cited wanting to spend more time with his daughter Katie, who lives in Massachusetts, so it was time for him to move on.
Kelso softball: Dean Sorensen
Kelso softball coach Dean Sorensen holds the district championship trophy after the Lassies beat Shelton in the district title game on Friday, May 15, at Heritage High School in Vancouver. Sorensen recently announced his retirement from coaching.
"It's been a good run," he said. "I've enjoyed every minute of it. I think it's just time for somebody else to take over. Sometimes your body tells you that."
A chance encounter
It was Katie who was the catalyst for Sorensen to coach softball. In 1991, they were walking through the Kelso mall when they came across an advertisement for youth softball team. Sorensen signed 8-year-old Katie up, and marked that he would volunteer for the program.
Soon after, Sorensen received a call saying that his roster was ready. Confused, he said that he only signed up to help out, not to coach. However, it turns out, he was the only one who offered to assist at all.
"They said, 'If you don't take this team, these kids won't have a coach,'" Sorensen said. "I said, 'OK, I'll take them.' That's probably the best thing I ever did."
It ended up working out for Sorensen. The 1975 Kelso graduate later spent 27 years as a part of the Kelso softball program, with 12 as an assistant, one as the co-head coach alongside Mike McMahon, and 14 as the head coach.
"I played baseball, but I never coached or played softball," Sorensen said. "I started watching videos and books to learn it. I've been hooked ever since."
The accolades
Sorensen, 70, has a career record of 219-137 with the Lassies. He was selected as the 3A Greater St. Helens League coach of the year in both 2015 and 2025 and in 2011, he and McMahon were named the Washington State Softball Coaches Association coaches of the year.
Recently, Sorensen led the Lassies to back-to-back league championships during the past two seasons. Kelso also won the district title and claimed a victory in the state tournament this year.
Kelso softball: Dean Sorensen
Kelso softball coach Dean Sorensen laughs along with Jessi Sorensen after an awkward slide into third base during a 30-0 win over Thomas Jefferson at the bi-District III/IV Tournament at The RAC in Lacey, Thursday, May 16, 2024. Sorensen has a career record of 219-137 (61.5%) with the Lassies.
The biggest moments of his career came while he was an assistant when Kelso won consecutive state championships in 2009 and 2010. Sorensen had fond memories of the 2009 season especially, when Kelso came into the state tournament in Tacoma as an unknown team.
"It was awesome," he said. "In 2009, we knew we had a pretty good team, but we weren't planning on going and winning state. It just happened. The players gelled at the right time.
"We read the Tacoma paper, and the only time they mentioned us was when we were someone else's opponent. I like that. Nobody knows who Kelso is. It was a running joke for a while. I bet they know who Kelso is now."
However, it's not the accolades or the championships that Sorensen will remember the most, but the connections that he made along the way.
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"The best memories are the relationships I acquired with the players and coaching staffs," he said, "and seeing these kids grow up, get married and have kids of their own."
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This story was originally published June 16, 2026 at 6:20 PM.