PLYMOUTH, Ohio — The students may be on break, but Plymouth Athletic Director Andrew McFarland was hard at work Monday morning.
The start of the 2015-16 volleyball season is little more than two months away and McFarland is still in need of a varsity coach.
“Do you have any leads?” McFarland asked, only half-kidding.
Former coach Kayla Oney stepped down and McFarland has been beating the bushes in search of her replacement. He has exhausted all possibilities.
“Kayla did it for the past two years, but she is finishing up her degree and is getting married. She couldn’t commit to it,” McFarland said. “We have had the opening posted on the Ohio High School Athletic Association website and I have emailed every school and coach in the Northwest District, but we haven’t got any interest.”
The district is considering the possibility of suspending the season if a replacement can’t be found.
“We don’t want it to come to that,” McFarland said. “I was talking to our high school principal and she asked me, ‘How long can we wait?’ We really need to get someone in place as quickly as possible.”
Coaching turnover at small schools is not unusual. Coaches will build their resumes for a few years before moving on to bigger schools.
“I was talking to some people who have been in the school district for years and they said we have had 12 volleyball coaches in the past 15 years,” McFarland said. “Nobody has committed long term and the program has struggled because of it. There hasn’t been any level of consistency, which is important in building a winning program.”
Anyone interested in the position should contact McFarland at 419-687-8200, ext. 22172.
“We can’t wait much longer,” he said. “We don’t want to cancel the season, but the possibility exists if we can’t fill the position.”
“Nobody has committed long term and the program has struggled because of it. There hasn’t been any level of consistency, which is important in building a winning program,” said Plymouth Athletic Director Andrew McFarland.
