After years of being recognized for her abilities as a star basketball player, coach, and sports psychologist, Mary Cranston has come home again to work with local athletes and to give help as needed. Mary feels very comfortable and excited to return to her roots in Longview and R.A. Long.
Mary helped the Lumberjills win a state championship in basketball in 1981. She joined teammates with whom she had played ball since grade their school days. She then went on to play at Western Washington University where she studied sports psychology.
After graduation, she began working in several fields including Child Protective Services, and then established a private practice. She still runs her office in Olympia as well as Longview.
Mary coached girls basketball in various high schools and colleges for 22 years, including Grays Harbor College, Arlington High School, Black Hills High School, Aloha High School in Oregon, and at South Umpqua, where she also worked as a behavior specialist. She stopped coaching in 2008 to focus on her own children’s sports careers.
Mary followed up on other ambitions while at R.A. Long and was shaping up her leadership abilities. She was involved in ASB leadership, served as basketball team captain, occupied first chair in orchestra, and enjoyed being on the girls drill team. One major ‘seed planter’ who came into her life while at RAL was teacher Barbara Futrell. She pulled Mary aside after class one day and told her she could be a good writer if she really wanted to be. That conversation led to Mary being a published author today, and writing and implementing a Drug and Alcohol prevention program for the South Umpqua School District that led the “Health Professional of the Year” award for the state of Oregon.
Mary began her coaching career at South Umpqua High School. She was a curriculum writer and developed a program for Yelm school district called “The ABC’s of Student Success” that was published and launched throughout the state of Washington.
Mary continues to be sought after as a conference speaker, school district trainer, and motivational leader.
Mary continues to gain inspiration from her family and certainly her background with R.A. Long and Longview in general. She states that the ‘seed planters’ of her past and the ‘pillars she stands on today’ allow her to feel grateful to all.