Hoquiam High School announces new coaches, upgrades to gym

All gym lights at Hoquiam Square Garden replaced with LED bulbs

By Ryan Sparks • July 1, 2025 1:30 am
SUBMITTED PHOTO All 64 lights at Hoquiam Square Garden were recently replaced with LED bulbs in what school officials said will help the district save on electricity costs.
SUBMITTED PHOTO All 64 lights at Hoquiam Square Garden were recently replaced with LED bulbs in what school officials said will help the district save on electricity costs.

Hoquiam High School announced upgrades to its gymnasium as well as the hiring of some new coaches this past week.

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Gymnasium improvements

Hoquiam Square Garden is undergoing some routine maintenance this summer, most notably the replacement of the lights.

All 64 of the gyms lights have been replaced with more cost-effective LED lights by school district electricians Jim McDougal and Eric Herron.

“Switching to LED will save the district a lot of money in electricity in the future,” Hoquiam Athletic Director Shane Krohn said.

Both the Hoquiam high school and middle school gyms will be closed from July 6 until approximately July 21 for annual floor maintenance.

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New coaches announced

Hoquiam High School announced the hiring of several new coaches for its sports programs on Monday.

Pedro Weber Cruz was hired as the Grizzlies girls soccer head coach. Cruz played at Hoquiam High School before transferring to Aberdeen, where he helped the Bobcats place fifth in the state in his senior season of 2016.

As a coach, Cruz led a team to a second-place finish at the WPL Copa in 2023 and a team to the Coastal Cup Championship in 2024.

Former Wenatchee High School standout goal keeper and state champion Rapheal Jiminez will join Cruz’s staff as an assistant head coach.

Jiminez’s coaching experience includes head coaching stints with the Grays Harbor Gulls youth teams as well as assistant coaching work with the Tacoma Defiance and Sounders S2.

Jordan Decker will be joining the Grizzlies staff as an assistant football coach after spending the past few seasons as an Elma assistant coach, including a defensive coordinator position for the Elma Middle School football team.

Jamie Hectus brings a sparkling resume as the new head coach of the Grizzlies cheerleading program.

Hectus guided Sacred Heart Academy (Louisville, Kentucky) to National Championships in 2017 and 2019 and has over 20 years of experience.

Former Grizzlies standout cheerleader Emily Woods will join Hectus as an assistant cheer coach.

The 2008 Hoquiam graduate, Woods was an all-star cheerleader in 2007-08 and performed at the halftime show of the 2007 NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Woods brings over seven years of coaching experience to the position.