"Jay Inslee: Organized sports taught the importance of teamwork"

"Jay Inslee, right, as a player for his high-school basketball team. They won the state basketball championship at Ingraham his senior year in 1969."

Andrew Garber (Seattle Times):

Some politicians appear aimed for elected office from an early age, but that wasn't true for Jay Inslee.

Basketball and his girlfriend — now his wife, Trudi — were at the top of his mind in high school, he recalls.

At 6-foot-2 and 185 pounds, Inlsee played small forward on Ingraham High School's 1969 championship basketball team and was starting quarterback on the football team.

But Inslee kept up with academics, too. He was on the honor roll in high school and college, and showed an early predilection for taking charge. MORE...