Robservations: WC athletic staff back at full strength
There’s a great sense of relief around the friendly neighborhood sports department these days, and I’ll bet it’s the same kind of sensation being felt among the Warren County High School administration.
Ryan Smith came back to his hometown Wednesday as the new Pioneer head coach, ending a two-month search by the WCHS boys basketball program.
So finally, after months of shoulder-shrugging, we all now have an answer to the question, “have we got a basketball coach yet?”
Even your lowly sports reporters have been hounded for weeks on end, with countless inquiries from sports fans around the city.
And that’s just the kind of questions I’ve personally received — and I don’t get out that much. I can only imagine how fans have been hounding those people actually involved in the coaching search.
McMinnville may be a small town, but it can boast a rumor mill to rival even the biggest of cities. Let someone hear — or invent — a scenario, particuarly when it comes to high school sports coaches, and the rumors start flying.
Sometimes the original information might be right on the money. But by the time it’s been passed down the line, it’s often been blown completely out of proportion.
It’s laughable, almost. But instead, it’s actually quite sad that so many people seem to have so little to occupy their time, they actually investigate, perpetuate and create rumors about high school athletics.
They’re games on Friday nights, for goodness sake. Played by our children. Aren’t there more important things to concern yourselves with?
But thankfully, all the rumors are now put to bed, and all the questions are answered now, and not just one — but two — coaching vacancies are filled, and WCHS has a full athletic department once again.
As far as this friendly neighborhood sports columnist is concerned, I’m happy for Ryan, and I wish him all the best as he becomes the third person in a row to begin his head coaching career at the helm of the WCHS boys basketball program.
And for anyone who may have been hoping against hope for another hometown candidate to reconsider his decision to not go for the job, I offer this quote, straight from Ryan’s letter of recommendation:
“I believe that coach Ryan Smith has earned the opportunity to be the head coach at WCHS. If he would have stayed, he would be the next head coach at Gallatin.
“I would prefer that my children have the opportunity to play for coach Smith before I would want them to play for me.”
— Bobby Luna