baseball: coaching changes
Guy MacKay, former coach at Taylorsville high, meet Tubby Smith. Tubby, meet Guy. You two have a lot in common.
Smith, as you may or may not know, coached the Kentucky Wildcats to a national championship. He took his team to final eight's. He took his team to sweet 16's. For 10 years, Tubby Smith won consistently. He won without fanfare, and his teams were always competitive against the best the nation had to offer.
Problem was, for Tubby, his name was not Rick. As in Pitino, the man who turned the Wildcats into a dynasty, and because of that, Tubby Smith was all but run out of town, resigning his post two years ago to take the job with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
So where, do you ask, does MacKay come in? It's simple. His name wasn't Steve Cramblitt, the former Taylorsville coach who won multiple state championships during his tenure with the Warriors. He moved on to Juan Diego, where he won a title this year, in dominating fashion.
MacKay won three region titles in his five years as the head coach. He also took his team to the state title game in 2007. But for a Taylorsville program that's used to winning titles, apparently, this wasn't enough. That's why MacKay was fired last week. For his part, MacKay knew that this wasn't easy, and he knew the fan base and the expectations would run high.
"It's not like I got hit over the head with a sledgehammer," he said. Still, this was the first year where the program truly lagged. Indeed, the Warriors got off to a 4-11 start to the season, and had to win nine consecutive games just to make the playoffs. I thought that would've been enough to earn him another year at the helm, especially since the talent that Cramblitt got hasn't trickled down to MacKay. The administration thought otherwise. MacKay wants to get back into coaching. He told me as much. He's going to stay with the school as a teacher, and he'll continue to coach in the younger ranks. But for a man who has been a part of the Taylorsville baseball program since 1995, this had to be a disappointing end.
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Just as MacKay's firing was disappointing, Judge coach Jeff Myaer's decision to step down for a year was perplexing. Myaer, the head coach in baseball and a football assistant, said that he wants to spend more time with his family. His son, Zach, will be a senior next season, and that played a big role. Still, Judge baseball is a talented program who should compete for titles for years to come. I wonder, if Myaer does indeed return in 2011, what it will do to the continuity of the program?
Tony Jones
Smith, as you may or may not know, coached the Kentucky Wildcats to a national championship. He took his team to final eight's. He took his team to sweet 16's. For 10 years, Tubby Smith won consistently. He won without fanfare, and his teams were always competitive against the best the nation had to offer.
Problem was, for Tubby, his name was not Rick. As in Pitino, the man who turned the Wildcats into a dynasty, and because of that, Tubby Smith was all but run out of town, resigning his post two years ago to take the job with the Minnesota Golden Gophers.
So where, do you ask, does MacKay come in? It's simple. His name wasn't Steve Cramblitt, the former Taylorsville coach who won multiple state championships during his tenure with the Warriors. He moved on to Juan Diego, where he won a title this year, in dominating fashion.
MacKay won three region titles in his five years as the head coach. He also took his team to the state title game in 2007. But for a Taylorsville program that's used to winning titles, apparently, this wasn't enough. That's why MacKay was fired last week. For his part, MacKay knew that this wasn't easy, and he knew the fan base and the expectations would run high.
"It's not like I got hit over the head with a sledgehammer," he said. Still, this was the first year where the program truly lagged. Indeed, the Warriors got off to a 4-11 start to the season, and had to win nine consecutive games just to make the playoffs. I thought that would've been enough to earn him another year at the helm, especially since the talent that Cramblitt got hasn't trickled down to MacKay. The administration thought otherwise. MacKay wants to get back into coaching. He told me as much. He's going to stay with the school as a teacher, and he'll continue to coach in the younger ranks. But for a man who has been a part of the Taylorsville baseball program since 1995, this had to be a disappointing end.
***********************************************************
Just as MacKay's firing was disappointing, Judge coach Jeff Myaer's decision to step down for a year was perplexing. Myaer, the head coach in baseball and a football assistant, said that he wants to spend more time with his family. His son, Zach, will be a senior next season, and that played a big role. Still, Judge baseball is a talented program who should compete for titles for years to come. I wonder, if Myaer does indeed return in 2011, what it will do to the continuity of the program?
Tony Jones
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