It was Spirit Night at Bothell High’s home volleyball match on Tuesday, and Cougar coach Marlie Davis made sure that Tim Driver’s presence was felt.

After asking for a moment of silence before the match, Davis noted that Driver would want the Bothell and Newport players to have fun and compete hard.

Last Friday afternoon, Driver — a Bothell basketball and softball coach and Newport football offensive coordinator — died of natural causes due to hypertensive cardiovascular disease, according to the King County Medical Examiner’s office. Newport coaches learned of Driver’s death following the Knights’ victory over Bothell that evening.

Driver’s memorial service will take place at 4 p.m. Saturday in Newport’s gym.

On what would have been Driver’s 46th birthday, Bothell head basketball coach Ron Bollinger said today that Driver “was like a brother to me. He was Uncle Tim to my kids when they were growing up. He was always there when we needed him — he was year round.”

Driver was Bollinger’s assistant coach for 24 years, first at Sammamish High and 16 of the last 17 years at Bothell. Driver also coached some junior-varsity ball, Bollinger said.

“He brought a great knowledge for kids — he was 100 percent for kids — as well as his basketball knowledge,” said Bollinger, adding that he encouraged Driver to speak up if he disagreed with the head coach’s game plan. They would talk about the situation and either go a new route or stick with Bollinger’s original design.

“He was someone you could trust,” Bollinger said. “When someone needed it, he would help.” Driver was also a principal at the online Insight School of Washington, whose Facebook page is flooded with inspirational notes about Driver.

According to pages placed in the volleyball program, Driver was passionate about making people laugh and think simultaneously. Driver listed one of his inspirational figures as Bruce Brown, who runs Proactive Coaching, an organization focused on motivational workshops. Driver took on a mentor role at Proactive and spoke with athletes and youth coaches much the same way Brown interacted with him as a youth.

The volleyball program also featured a page that had a note for Driver. It reads, in part: “We hope you know that you have made a difference in our society and that you are truly a hero for having a servant’s heart and giving back the gifts you carried in your heart.”

“It has been a rough week,” said Yonni Mills, Bothell High athletic director. “(It’s) so sad and such a huge loss.”