eastern pike varsity coach

[bbjunky81]

I think that people r saying Doug would only b getting this job because of Neil leist is absurd and unfair to Doug and Neil, I think the decision not to renew pj came a year ago when he accepted a job in administration, and Doug was not even living in Ohio at that time, I think that Neil may have told Doug that this job could be coming open, and that eastern would like to consider him for the job, but isn't that what he should do is try to get the best people for the school, and in no way do I believe he had to convince the people at eastern to consider Doug for the position, they r smart enough to know that Doug would b a great candidate for head coach, from my understanding , Doug could have had other jobs that most would prolly consider a better job than eastern, but eastern is where he chose to be, so for people who think Doug is only being considered because of Neil and that this was a done deal from the beginning is completely false.

This paragraph literally made my head hurt. Never in my life have I seen such a run on sentence, therefore I am going to go through and highlight all of the periods used in the sentence.

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

Go Indians,
How many years of head coaching experience did Kyle miller have when western hired him, didn't they get rid of a hall of farmer to hire him, and that worked out pretty well for u guys, because Jordan was past his prime, and miller was the right choice, so it does happen, if Tom barrick is such a good coach , why is he wanting to come to a d4 school, wouldn't he want something a little bigger than eastern, but I would have no problem with them hiring barrick, Doug would just b my first choice.

Bbjunk81, u r correct I am terrible at typing stuff out , it made me laugh when I seen ur comment, I didn't major in English.

[Jim Mora]

How many were even interviewed? The only 2 I keep seeing mentioned are Doug Williams and Tom Legend.

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

I have heard that around 20 people put in for the job , but that could just b rumor. As far as I know Doug Williams,Tom barrick, and Eric horton ( jv coach ) have been interviewed, not sure if any other interviews have happend yet or not. I would have to think it's between Williams and barrick though.

[Mr.T]

it sounds like the claw believes that Doug is already a better coach than Tom. Also this situaton doesn't compare to Western at all. This is about who a few people can control or not.

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

It's not that I think Doug is a better coach than barrick, I am just defending eastern and their decision of hiring Doug if that's what they choose to do.

tom barrick is a great coach, but I have been told that he is only looking to coach 2-3 more years, and that worries me a little. Why would eastern hire him then have to go through this same process in 2-3 years from now, and I think over these next couple years that Doug would do just as good as barrick. eastern is lucky to have two great choices to choose from it will b interesting to see who they choose.

[GOINDIANS]

The western situation is probably closer than some realize. Unlike Tom, Larry was done. Just to old to physically keep up. However Mike wanted the job, but Kyles grandpa is on the school board and got that taken care of. That said, Kyle did an awesome job and will be a great coach for years to come. Again Doug will do fine. However not any better or as good as PJ would have, and definitely not better than hall of famer Barrick!

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

Go Indians,

I heard that about Kyle, didn't feel it was appropriate to bring it up because Kyle miller was obviously the right choice for the job, and as much as they should b no favoritism for having family in the system a person should not be punished for having family in the system as well, as long as they are a qualified candidate. Kyle was right for the job.

I am interested to hear your answer on this question. If Kyle miller and Tom barrick both applied for the eastern job who do u think eastern should hire? I know miller didn't apply , but just curious to hear your answer on that.

[GOINDIANS]

As good as Kyle is, and I believe he will be one of the best, you hire the hall of fame and take the sure thing for the next five years.

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

Wow, couldn't disagree with u more, even after watching Kyle do what he did with western last year , he is one of the brightest , energetic and best young coaches in the game, and u would still choose barrick, and let me tell u there are no sure things in basketball. Barrick is an old school coach, and there comes a time when that style just doesn't relate to the kids anymore, does he have some years left , prolly , but who knows, i would just hate to pass up a great young coach, for a coach who may or may not b pass his prime.

I put Doug in the same category as Kyle miller, he's young energetic and I think the kids would just relate to and like playing for him better than they would for barrick, just my opinion. As a d4 school , if u get a good coach , it always seems like they want to move on to bigger and better things, and here eastern is they have a chance to hire a coach who wants to b at eastern for a long time , who from I am being told is not wanting to move on to something bigger and better , eastern is where he is from and where he wants to b, u have to take advantage of that.

Doug was head coach at western brown for three years ( I think ) and jv coach for a few years as well, during his time there he went 10-10 year 1, 12-8 year 2, and 17-4 and a league title in year 3, not to bad for a young coach at a d1 school playing against big schools from Cincinnati , and that league titlewas only the 7th in school history for western brown, it's hard to win there from what I have been told because they play d1 schools from Cincinnati . .

Just to b clear , I feel like I am always bashing on Tom barrick, which is prolly wrong because he's a great coach and eastern would b lucky to get him , in fact three months ago when I heard he was interested in the job I was ecstatic thinking we could get him, until I heard Doug was coming back and then I changed my thoughts completely, I went from wanting barrick to rooting against him when I thought we might b able to get Doug Williams.
From what I am hearing they will hire a coach tomorrow at the school board meeting, so we will see how eastern chooses to go then

[Kyle Miller]

The western situation is probably closer than some realize. Unlike Tom, Larry was done. Just to old to physically keep up. However Mike wanted the job, but Kyles grandpa is on the school board and got that taken care of. That said, Kyle did an awesome job and will be a great coach for years to come. Again Doug will do fine. However not any better or as good as PJ would have, and definitely not better than hall of famer Barrick!

Not only do I not have a grandfather on the board, but I have zero family on the board. The only family I have in the school district are my 5th grade brother and 8th grade sister.

[eagle country]

Doesn't matter who is there coach Miller you done a great job with those boys this past year and hopefully we can get Doug Williams as our coach and if that happens I see a lot of big games in Eastern and westerns future .... you were the right choice for that job and I believe that Doug is for us you and your staff keep putting in the hard work because I believe your one of the best coaches in our area and see a very bright future for you

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

I'm glad Kyle miller cleared that up , because I had heard that and it was obviously just a rumor, it sucks how rumors get started and and then people , including me, think that it is truth when it was most certainly not.

Like i said Kyle miller is one of the best young coaches in the game , western is extremely lucky to have him there, I wish nothing but the best for him , except for the 2-4 times a year when u play my eagles of course.

Agree with eagle country , it would b great to see Doug and Kyle battle it out over the next several years , I know they r friends , but that sure would b one heck of a rivalry. It will b great to see two d4 pike county schools with such great young coaches .

[beaverlover]

Tom Barrick new head coach at Eastern

[smurray]

Wow, I'm surprised. Barrick is a very good hire but I'm surprised they didn't go with Doug.

[THE CLAW IS THE LAW]

yep, I thought Doug Williams would b the choice, but barrick is our coach now, and I will support him, congrats to mr barrick and welcome to eastern.

[eagle country]

Im surprised in this but he will do a good job .... Just wonder how many parents this will upset and also our boys will learn to play defense bc I don't think Barricks teams avg. More then 50 ppg good luck coach Barrick

[doobie]

Now that this is over I wanted to make a couple of clarifications.

1. Congratulations to Coach Barrick. He is a Hall of Famer for a reason and I remember back when I played, watching his teams play. I remember making a trip to St. Johns to watch him play Bishop Hartley and coach the Burleson boys. He awarded me with a player of the year trophy my senior year. I have a lot of respect for Coach and think he will do a great job with the talent that Eastern has coming.

2. I have a lot of empathy for Coach Fitch. Somehow this was turned into a me vs him thing at some point. When my personal life came to a crossroads in Pittsburgh and I knew I was coming home, I called everyone who I knew that might be able to help me find a teaching job, so that I may not be jobless. Neil happens to be someone that I respect a lot from my childhood and someone that I trust. At that time I was told that teaching may be an option if lots of circumstances happened, but that I would have to wait to be a Head Coach in Eastern School District until after Coach Fitch decided to hang it up. At no time ever was it talked about to get anything over on Coach. I don't know Coach Fitch personally, and everyone says nothing but great things about him as a person, but I would not wish having your coaching job taken away from you on anyone. I have had to leave two jobs myself because of things out of my control and it is hard to stop, to leave kids and to leave friends. I am just sorry that people turned it into this.

3. Neil has not been my step father for 18 years. I could count on one hand how many times in 18 years that Neil and I have hung out one on one together, without his daughters (my little sisters) being present. And I could probably count on my fingers and toes how many times I have seen him in those 18 years for longer than a couple minutes at a time. Neil and I created a bond during those years that created a lot of respect between the two of us. I was a gifted kid who was never going to be ready to play Division 1 basketball without someone to push me. He taught me the value of self discipline and hard work and I will never be able to thank him enough for that. As far as where I am from? I started school in Waverly Ohio and when my mother and father separated and my mother married Neil I became an Eastern kid. I was there from 3rd grade until my Jr. year of high school. I loved my friends and teammates at Piketon after I left, but I have always explained that I was an Eastern kid to everyone who asks me the story about where I went to school. I graduated from Piketon, my grandfather had a gym named after him at Western, my grandmother taught at Waverly and was on school board at Waverly for many years, my aunts taught and lived in Waverly, my great uncles played at Stockdale and Waverly... I say all this to say that I have had family and ties in every school. I AM FROM PIKE COUNTY in every sense of that phrase. I know people at every school and I still get called "Heckie Thompson's" grandson. With everything being tilted in my personal life I simply wanted to come home and work with kids who are growing up like I did and as long as my situation works out so that I can still do that, I will still plan to do just that.

In the end I want Eastern to do well (I want all Pike County kids to do well), I want Coach Barrick to do well, I want PJ to find peace and I hope for the kids sake that we can all just let coach do his job. I have seen the talent that they have coming up and Coach Barrick will have some tools to make a few runs real soon. I love basketball and will continue to do what I am passionate about. I have no hard feelings or ill will towards anyone or any decision. Coach Barrick is a great choice!

[smurray]

Great post Doug.

[eagle country]

Great post Doug hopefully you will find something because it is well deserved good luck hopefully somewhere down the road you can be at eastern or any other pike county school all would be lucky to have you