“Yeah, real easy. No pressure,” said Terrell in his best tongue-in-cheek voice. “Just win the league for the 16th straight year.”
Terrell, 31, officially took over one of the area’s top boys programs from Charlie Luse this month.
In his 19 years as head coach, Luse put together squads that won 15 straight overall or divisional Southwestern Buckeye League championships.
“I’m 56, and I just figured it was time to give it up,” said Luse. “I had some great teams and outstanding players. Had to keep that streak of league titles. A couple of times I wasn’t sure if we’d win it, but the kids came through.
“They take a lot of pride in that streak. Kevin will do a good job. He has a bunch of talent coming back and a good coaching staff to help him.”
Making the grade
There was a long list of candidates for the position. Terrell was one of four finalists interviewed.
“It was a tough interview process,” he said. “There are a lot of expectations on and off the field. I feel very fortunate. I think Bellbrook is one of the top five or six jobs around the Dayton area.”
Terrell was a starter on Centerville’s 1996 state Division I runner-up team. He played one year of college soccer at the University of Findlay before a hip injury ended his career.
He transferred to Dayton and began coaching at various schools and area clubs while finishing his degree. He was the assistant girls coach at Miamisburg the past two years. Prior to that he was the head boys coach at Milton-Union.
“I have a good coaching background at a lot of levels, which I hope helped me get the job,” he said. “I live in Bellbrook and know a lot of the kids. My wife, Jonele, is the cheerleading adviser so I know a lot of the administrators. I’m very familiar with situation, and I’m not stepping into it cold.”
Foundation in place
Terrell is keeping the long-time staff Luse put together of Marcel Dezarn, Bob Parks, John-Mark Mocas and Nick Kinney.
“It’s a great situation,” said Terrell. “In the past at some schools, we had to almost start from scratch in teaching fundamentals. At Bellbrook most of the kids have played a lot of soccer at the club level and understand the game.
“You can start out the training being a little more advanced in tactics and techniques. You still work on the fundamentals, but it doesn’t take up as much of your practice schedule.”
Terrell expects between 65 and 70 players to try out for the three teams Bellbrook will field. Included among those players will be 16 seniors back from a 16-3-2 team that lost to Alter in the Division II district semifinals. The top returning player will be Chris Lynch, who had 22 goals and eight assists last year.
The Eagles are chasing the area record of 19 straight league championships by Carroll in the now disbanded Mid-Miami League.
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