Best HC job in Ohio

I'll tell you what the best job in ohio is. One where the Principal, AD, and Superintendent are on the same page. Community support is adequate and not delusional and is a place where you would want to raise a family and get an education for your kids.
Don't forget.... co-operation between the sports programs. Coach Reed would give his blessing for football players to miss 7 on 7 for an ACME game, or a player be a spotter at lifting in the AM if he was pitching in a big game that night.

Coach Otten has even thrown some BP, and take some cuts, for ACME s well.

I also coached at another place where the hoops coach left me a nasty message for having a game the same night they had open gym so some places just don't jive.
 
Last edited:
Yes, I get what you are saying. By sticking with the process, I am referring to how the program runs with discipline and consistency, very little hype. Such as not allowing over zealous parents run the team, players not yelling at coaches, etc... He also keeps his assistant coaches as some have been there with him for 20 years. Coach Sharrett runs a tight ship.
Players not yelling at coaches? In the State Title game players were throwing helmets...walking away from coaches as they were trying to talk to them. Not sure I would call that a tight ship. Pickerington Central for a long time was thought as a team that would underachieve bc of being undisciplined. (Nothing like that would happen at Hartley) But I do think PC is the top job in Central Ohio. They have the most talent on the field just about every game...
 
Last edited:
Every successful program doesn't have the same recipe for success. In the old days, the former industrial powerhouses (Canton, Massillon, Warren, Fostoria, etc.) had blue collar atmospheres that bred tough kids. We're seeing that trend now at the smaller school with the MAC, a slew of farming communities that raise their children in an atosphere that promotes dicsipline & growth before they can even touch a football. When you take any of these aspects of "community" and build on them through other productive things (rec centers, youth building programs, proper mentorship, etc.), you put your school system in a much better position to surround put their youth in an environment that promotes success both on & off teh field.

As far as coaching goes, it's always a plus to have a coach that embodies the aspects that their school systems promotes. For example... I read that 100% of the alumni from Cleveland St. Ignatius go off to college. Often times, the discipline that they obviously show in the classroom is shown on the field, which aligns perfectly with the way Coach Kyle runs his program. The Wildcats' overall success suggests that they have the best talent in the state, but they've won championjshuips in years when they probrably didn't even have the best talent in Cleveland. They'll beat teams by 50+ with screens and draws the whole game simply because they usually do all of the little things right. Does that mean that Kyle wouldn't be successful at other schools? Not necessarily, but I think that Iggy struck gold when they hired him 30+ years ago.

Now, look at Massillon. As much as they're hated on, it's taken the best team in Division II, if not all of Ohio, to knock them off the last few years. Win or lose, their community builds their youth up to be successful and as a whole, everything aligns perfectly with the way that Coach Nate Moore likes to run his programs. This past September, I actually had the pleasure of meeting Moore at Buena Vista in Warren. He came with David Lee Morgan Jr., a good friend of mine who many of you know is an accomplished author from Warren who now teaches/coaches in Massillon. He really enjoys living/working there because of the way they set their kids up to chase success. I asked Moore about his time at Minster and La Salle and he preached about the sense of community in Western Ohio and the desire to emerge there as well as in Cincinnati. He said that people in Minster literally leave their keys in their cars cause everybody knows and looks out for each other. He even laughed about doing misatkingly doing that in Columbus before realizing he wasn't at home, lol. Now, he's gone from Minster to La Salle to Massillon, where he helped change/rejuvenate the cultures. With his mentality in a football crazed place liek Massillon, they're always seekking out big opportunities for their players during & beyond high school.

Long winded reply, but I believe that the communities that puts their youth in a great position to succeed makes life a lot easier for their coaches, especially when the mentalities of all align well. That's why '09 Hilliard Davidson knocked off Glenville, '05 & '07 Coldwater knocked off Mooney, why Iggy & St. X rebounded from 6-4 & 5-5 regular seasons to win state, etc.
 
Every successful program doesn't have the same recipe for success. In the old days, the former industrial powerhouses (Canton, Massillon, Warren, Fostoria, etc.) had blue collar atmospheres that bred tough kids. We're seeing that trend now at the smaller school with the MAC, a slew of farming communities that raise their children in an atosphere that promotes dicsipline & growth before they can even touch a football. When you take any of these aspects of "community" and build on them through other productive things (rec centers, youth building programs, proper mentorship, etc.), you put your school system in a much better position to surround put their youth in an environment that promotes success both on & off teh field.

As far as coaching goes, it's always a plus to have a coach that embodies the aspects that their school systems promotes. For example... I read that 100% of the alumni from Cleveland St. Ignatius go off to college. Often times, the discipline that they obviously show in the classroom is shown on the field, which aligns perfectly with the way Coach Kyle runs his program. The Wildcats' overall success suggests that they have the best talent in the state, but they've won championjshuips in years when they probrably didn't even have the best talent in Cleveland. They'll beat teams by 50+ with screens and draws the whole game simply because they usually do all of the little things right. Does that mean that Kyle wouldn't be successful at other schools? Not necessarily, but I think that Iggy struck gold when they hired him 30+ years ago.

Now, look at Massillon. As much as they're hated on, it's taken the best team in Division II, if not all of Ohio, to knock them off the last few years. Win or lose, their community builds their youth up to be successful and as a whole, everything aligns perfectly with the way that Coach Nate Moore likes to run his programs. This past September, I actually had the pleasure of meeting Moore at Buena Vista in Warren. He came with David Lee Morgan Jr., a good friend of mine who many of you know is an accomplished author from Warren who now teaches/coaches in Massillon. He really enjoys living/working there because of the way they set their kids up to chase success. I asked Moore about his time at Minster and La Salle and he preached about the sense of community in Western Ohio and the desire to emerge there as well as in Cincinnati. He said that people in Minster literally leave their keys in their cars cause everybody knows and looks out for each other. He even laughed about doing misatkingly doing that in Columbus before realizing he wasn't at home, lol. Now, he's gone from Minster to La Salle to Massillon, where he helped change/rejuvenate the cultures. With his mentality in a football crazed place liek Massillon, they're always seekking out big opportunities for their players during & beyond high school.

Long winded reply, but I believe that the communities that puts their youth in a great position to succeed makes life a lot easier for their coaches, especially when the mentalities of all align well. That's why '09 Hilliard Davidson knocked off Glenville, '05 & '07 Coldwater knocked off Mooney, why Iggy & St. X rebounded from 6-4 & 5-5 regular seasons to win state, etc.
Well said Mr Worm , Well said !!
 
Lee Owens left for Akron...
Jack Rose left For Glenoak...
Rick Shepas left for Waynesburg...
Where's Nate Mooore gonna end up?

I'll wait for your answer...


FWIW Lee Owens left to go to Ohio State
I wouldn't be surprised that Coach Moore would also head to OSU
 
St. X has had 3 head coaches in 68 years; [25,26, current 17] an indication it might be a good place for a head coach

There is a strong argument for the Catholic schools being the best jobs in Ohio. People will talk about coaches that leave for STRS, but then you look at a lot of the Catholic schools and their coaches have been there forever.

In Columbus, Hartley has had only 3 coaches in their history. Desales has had only 6. Watterson has not had many more. Those coaches dont leave, but they could have.

With St X, Ramsey has been at Elder forever as well. These jobs must be the best, because the coaches at these schools could get about any job they want in Ohio.
 
There is a strong argument for the Catholic schools being the best jobs in Ohio. People will talk about coaches that leave for STRS, but then you look at a lot of the Catholic schools and their coaches have been there forever.

In Columbus, Hartley has had only 3 coaches in their history. Desales has had only 6. Watterson has not had many more. Those coaches dont leave, but they could have.

With St X, Ramsey has been at Elder forever as well. These jobs must be the best, because the coaches at these schools could get about any job they want in Ohio.

Couldn't agree more with the statement above.
 
Without a doubt, it has to be a Catholic school. I would lean towards St. Xavier, but others are very similar as well. The endowments that these schools have are really the differentiators. Their facilities are top notch, and most of the top talent in the surrounding areas want to play for them. When you couple tradition, almost unlimited resources, and facilities that rival a lot of college programs, it's a no brainer. Now, as far as public schools go, that's where this conversation gets interesting. There's a lot of programs that could be up for consideration on the public side of things.
 
What defines best? Highest pay? Best facilities? Support staff? Kids? Why Massillon? Tons of pressure, haven’t won anything since...well, ever! I would go with Marion Local, Coldwater, Minster, St Henry; great communities, good kids, always have athletes. To be honest if you can’t win at those schools you are probably not a good coach! I would assume Kirkland is the same I just don’t know that much about the community.
 
What defines best? Highest pay? Best facilities? Support staff? Kids? Why Massillon? Tons of pressure, haven’t won anything since...well, ever! I would go with Marion Local, Coldwater, Minster, St Henry; great communities, good kids, always have athletes. To be honest if you can’t win at those schools you are probably not a good coach! I would assume Kirkland is the same I just don’t know that much about the community.

? There are many “great communities“ in various parts of Ohio. Maybe you should define “great.”
 
? There are many “great communities“ in various parts of Ohio. Maybe you should define “great.”
Great in literally every measurable statistic that we keep track of for communities. Low % of students raised by one parent or grandparents, extremely low % of residents on government assistance, low # of issues with drugs, high graduation rate, high median income, low poverty rate, 0 homelessness, should I continue?
 
Great in literally every measurable statistic that we keep track of for communities. Low % of students raised by one parent or grandparents, extremely low % of residents on government assistance, low # of issues with drugs, high graduation rate, high median income, low poverty rate, 0 homelessness, should I continue?

Be careful, every community has these characteristics. If you don’t agree, you’re foolish.
 
No it isn’t but it is the best HC job in the state with the most pay and best facilities. In any job if you want to find another job wouldn’t the overwhelming #1 reason be pay ?
I guess the better question would be if it’s such a headache who was the last Massillon HC that left to find something better ?
I’ll wait for your answer....
Paul Brown left for something better. Or perhaps he just wanted to take the Massillon spirit further (hence the colors of the browns and bengals [can't change Ohio States colors]).
 
Top