Bruce Carlson recently notched his 400th career win as coach of the Seattle Lutheran High School girls basketball team and quickly tacked on additional victories.

His 403rd victory came Dec. 20 in a home game with University Prep. The Lady Saints throttled the Pumas 65-35.

Not bad for a jewelry salesman.

That's right, Carlson is not a teacher. He's been selling jewelry at Menashe and Sons Jewelers for about 25 years. That's also how long he's been coaching the girls basketball team at Seattle Lutheran High School.

For the record, Carlson has 403 wins and 214 losses at Seattle Lutheran.

Dressed in a blue golf shirt and tan pants, Carlson occasionally stood at the sideline during the game against University Prep with hands on hips to call out instructions and encouragement to his team. He had a towel tucked in his waistband for part of the game as he alternated between standing and sitting at the sideline.

"Drop back!" Carlson yelled to defenders. "Watch the corners!"

"Set it up!" he shouted to the offense.

During timeouts, Carlson squats in front of the resting players to give them pointers.

He sits with legs and arms crossed as he watches the game unfold.

Hanging high on the wall behind Carlson is a banner listing the 14 championships Seattle Lutheran won as part of the SeaTac "B" League.

The oldest of four children, Carlson grew up in Fauntlee Hills. He attended Fauntleroy Elementary, Denny Middle School and Chief Sealth High School. He played a lot of basketball in the backyard and at the Fauntleroy YMCA. It was there he learned some court skills from George Nichols, who was director of the Fauntleroy Y. at the time.

"I never got a lot of coaching," Carlson said. "I was mostly self-taught."

After high school graduation, Carlson went to Portland to attend Concordia College, where he majored in sociology. He tried out for and made the Concordia basketball team. At 6 feet 2 inches, he played forward and center.

"They didn't count on me to score a lot of points," he said. "I was more of a role player, so I had to learn to play defense and how to pass the ball."

After two years at Concordia, Carlson enrolled at Washington State University to finish work on a bachelor's degree in sociology.

"I've never been a teacher," he said. "I've always worked retail."

A friend of Carlson's was athletic director at Seattle Lutheran High School when it opened in 1980. Carlson was recruited as an assistant coach of the Saints' boys basketball team but noticed the girls team needed more help. The next year he was head coach of the girls basketball team.

"When I started, I had no coaching experience," Carlson said.

He studied books on coaching and watched a lot of games, focusing on strategies coaches use. He was a Boston Celtics fan and respected Red Auerbach, the fabled coach.

He also admired Dean Smith, former coach of the University of North Carolina, for the structure and teamwork he drilled into his Tarheel teams.

"They had to play as a team, not as individuals," Carlson said. "The team is the main part. No one person is any better than anybody else."

These days, female athletes get involved in basketball at a young age. There are high-level leagues, basketball camps year-round and other hoop programs for girls. Female high school athletes have become accomplished basketball players.

There are still differences between coaching girls as compared with boys.

"They still have their little spats," Carlson said. "Boys will handle it in a more physical way."

Boys tend to be more "in your face" or they might shove another player in a dispute, he said.

"Girls will hold it in a little," Carlson said. "They won't show it as much as guys."

"I don't usually have to get between girls in a dispute," he said.

Carlson has to keep a close eye on the players to try to figure out what's going on with them because they don't tell him their problems.

"That's why you need a female assistant coach," he said. "They'll talk to her about things."

Just as all coaches do, Carlson has to customize his game strategy around the players he has. This year's team has speedy guards.

"We're not the tallest team in the world," Carlson said. "So we use a more pressing, attacking style of ball."

The Lady Saints will pursue their 15th league championship under Carlson when league games start in early January.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at tstclair@westseattleherald.com or 932-0300.