Three Generations of Triche Family Lead Basketball Team to Championship Win

A Peachtree City basketball team’s championship win became a family milestone when three generations of the Triche family shared the court together — one as a player, two as coaches.

The Dawgs, part of the Peachtree City Select Basketball League, took home the championship after a full day of playoffs on October 18. The league, designed to prepare student-athletes for middle school tryouts, hosted seven regular-season games followed by a three-game playoff round. The Triches’ team entered the tournament ranked second, then swept all three games to win the title.

Family team effort

The team’s head coaches were Walter Triche Jr., 72, and his son Walter Triche III, a law enforcement officer. The youngest player, Walter Triche IV, a seventh-grader at Booth Middle School, played guard and scored a total of 27 points across the tournament, including 15 in the championship game.

“It felt really good to actually win one,” said Triche III. “We do it for the love of the game and to help the kids. We met our players 20 minutes before the first game, and by the end of the season, they were playing like a team.”

Teaching life lessons through basketball

For the elder Triche, coaching is about more than basketball. “Coaching to me is a way of mentoring kids,” he said. “You’ve got to learn that sometimes you win, sometimes you lose — but whatever it is, you keep playing the game. That’s how you win in life.”Triche Jr. has coached for more than 40 years, including during his son’s time at Sandy Creek High School. Seeing his grandson on the court this season was, he said, “something he’ll remember all his life — that his daddy and granddad were coaching and they won the championship together.”

Learning resilience on and off the court

The youngest Triche, known simply as Walter to his teammates, said one of the key lessons from his father and grandfather was learning to control his emotions during the game.

“They taught me that my emotions take over the whole game,” he said. “If you make a turnover, just let it happen. Everyone makes mistakes — just focus on the next play.”

That ability to move on quickly, his coaches say, has been key to his success. It also helped him earn a spot on Booth Middle School’s eighth-grade basketball team as a seventh-grader.

A winning team with heart

The Dawgs roster included players from Booth, Rising Starr, and Trinity Christian middle schools. According to Triche III, every player contributed to the championship run. “All of them were respectful, gracious, and played hard,” he said. “Every single one thanked us after every game. That made what we do worth it.”

As for what comes next, the Triche family says they plan to keep coaching together as long as they can. “We’ve coached for years but never won a championship before,” said Triche Jr. “To do it with my son and grandson on the same team — that’s special.”