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BOYS BASKETBALL COACHING CHANGES
Arcanum: Brian Gunter resign; succeeded by Marcus Bixler.
Beavercreek: John Ahrns resigned; succeeded by Mark Hess.
Tippecanoe: Marcus Bixler resigned; succeeded by Jim Staley.
In Mark Hess, Beavercreek welcomed yet another newcomer to the Greater Western Ohio Conference boys high school basketball coaching fraternity.
Hess, 29, was named to succeed John Ahrns as the Beavers’ head coach on Thursday night at the school. An Ashland native, he spent the last two seasons as head coach at Hilliard Darby in suburban Columbus.
Of the six GWOC Central Division teams, five have head coaches who have been in place for three seasons or less. Travis Trice of Wayne has been coaching the longest, seven seasons.
Isaiah Carson has been Springfield’s head coach for three seasons and Brook Cupps has been at Centerville for two. Collin Abels of Northmont and Fairmont’s Blair Albright made their debuts this past season.
Hess seemed to relish his role as the new guy.
“I kind of like that,” he said prior to meeting returning players and parents. “That fits me as a person. As a player I always played with a chip on my shoulder. I always felt like I had to prove something. I think the same thing as a coach. I want to challenge myself to be the best.”
It’s the first of two major coaching positions the Beavers had to fill this spring. Athletic director Jim Smerz said a new head football coach to succeed Scot Clodfelter likely will be named next week. Clodfelter resigned that position this spring to become Bethel’s head coach.
Hess previously was an assistant at Olentangy Liberty and Willard high schools. He was a three-year basketball captain at Mount Vernon Nazarene University and two-time team MVP. He also was a two-time NAIA Scholar Athlete. He’ll teach algebra and geometry in the Beavercreek City School District.
He said he’ll name a coaching staff in the next couple weeks.
“He comes from a great tradition of basketball,” Smerz said. “We think we got the right fit for our basketball program.”
The Beavers were 14-9 in Ahrns’ final season, his seventh, following a 9-0 start.
Hess did his homework and so did Beavercreek. Hess knew all about former Beavercreek coach Larry Holden’s great program and how Ed Zink won three state titles with the Beavers’ girls.
“I know people are thinking, OK, let’s see what this young guy has,” Hess said. “I know the expectations are set.
“They say I wear my heart on my sleeve. I coach the same way. I never sit down. The only time I sit down is when my foot hurts. I’m up. I’m active. I miss playing. This is my way to get back that competitive spirit.”
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