IBCA Touts Coaches

12 coaches receive accolades from IBCA for 2016-17 season

>> Coolman, Swan, Beyers, Renbarger, Brown and Sturgeon cited as boys’ District Coaches of the Year

>> Myers, Springer, Layden, Ramey, Bartley and McBride recognized as girls’ District Coaches of the Year

Twelve Indiana high school basketball coaches – six boys’ coaches and six girls’ coaches – have been chosen as Bob King Coaches of the Year by their peers in the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association, it was announced Wednesday (April 5).

Barak Coolman of Valparaiso, Clint Swan of Crown Point, Criss Beyers of Warren Central, Kevin Renbarger of Oak Hill, Kerry Brown of Connersville and Todd Sturgeon of Floyd Central have been selected as boys’ honorees through voting that occurred from late January through late February, IBCA executive director Steve Witty said.         Similarly, Ryan Myers of Kankakee Valley, Doug Springer of Northridge, Kathie Layden of Northwestern, DeeAnn Ramey of North Central, Johnnie Bartley of Wood Memorial and Mike McBride of Eastern (Pekin) were recognized as top girls’ coaches through voting in the same time span, Witty added.

Honors are awarded according to IHSAA district boundaries, and two coaches from each district are recipients – Coolman and Swan for the boys plus Myers and Springer for the girls in District 1; Beyers and Renbarger for the boys as well as Layden and Ramey for the girls in District 2; and Brown and Sturgeon for the boys plus Bartley and McBride for the girls in District 3.         Here is information about the six boys’ Coach of the Year honorees.         >> Coolman guided Valparaiso to a 21-4 season that included a co-championship of the Duneland Athletic Conference. In two seasons with the Vikings, Coolman has compiled a 41-11 record. In nine seasons as a head coach, including seven seasons at Fort Wayne Northrop, he has a 143-73 mark. At Northrop, he ws 102-62 with sectional titles in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He was SAC Coach of the Year in 2012 and has been named an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

>> Swan directed Crown Point to a 22-4 season and a co-championship of the Duneland Conference. He has compiled a 158-98 record in 11 years with the Bulldogs, including sectional crowns in 2008, 2015 and 2016. Swan has a career mark of 296-170 in 20 seasons as a head coach with previous stops at Andrean and Frankfort.

>> Beyers led Warren Central to a 21-3 record that included the championship of the Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference. He has a 31-15 record in two seasons with the Warriors and a 44-25 mark in three years as a boys’ basketball head coach. Beyers served 27 seasons as a boys’ basketball assistant at Bloomington South over four stints – 1979-80, 1982-95, 2001-12 and 2013-15. In between, he was a men’s basketball graduate assistant for one season at Indiana University (1981-82), the girls’ varsity coach for five seasons at Bloomington South (1995-2000) and the boys’ varsity head coach for one season at Martinsville (2012-13).

>> Renbarger guided Oak Hill to a 20-4 season that included a Central Indiana Conference title. Renbarger is 174-96 in 12 seasons with the Golden Eagles, including sectional crowns in 2015 and 2016. During his tenure, Renbarger’s teams at Oak Hill have captured seven CIC titles and six Grant County Tournament championships. Renbarger has been named an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

>> Brown directed Connersville to a 27-2 record that included an Eastern Indiana Athletic Conference championship and a sectional crown. The Spartans have gone 123-76 over the past eight seasons, and he has a 205-174 mark in 16 seasons as a head coach with previous stops at Rushville and South Dearborn. Brown was named Hoosier Heritage Conference Coach of the Year in 2001, Olympic Conference Coach of the Year in 2010 and EIAC Coach of the Year in 2015, 2016 and 2017. He has been selected an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana All-Stars.

>> Sturgeon guided Floyd Central to a 19-5 season that included runner-up finishes in the Hoosier Hills Conference and Seymour Sectional. This year’s team set a school record by allowing just 46.8 points per game and its 19 victories were the most for the Highlanders since 1989. In three seasons at Floyd Central, Sturgeon has compiled a 46-23 record. He previously coached the University of Indianapolis men to a 151-126 record over 10 seasons.

Here is information about the girls’ Coach of the Year recipients.

>> Myers directed Kankakee Valley to a 22-2 season that included the championship of the Northwest Crossroads Conference. Myers has a 120-60 record in eight seasons at KV with one sectional title (2014) and two conference crowns (2016 and 2017). He was named The Times of Northwest Indiana Coach of the Year in 2017 and chosen the Northwest Crossroads Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017. He has been selected to be an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

>> Springer guided Northridge to a 28-2 campaign that included sectional, regional and Northern Lakes Conference championships. Springer is 171-67 in 10 seasons with the Raiders, and he has a 223-85 record in 13 seasons as a girls’ varsity coach. He previously was coach at Wheeler for three seasons, guiding the Bearcats to a 52-18 record, two sectional titles and three Lake Athletic Conference (Blue Division) crowns. At Northridge, his teams have posted two sectional titles (2014 and 2017), one regional title (2017) and three NLC championships (2014, 2016 and 2017).

>> Layden led Northwestern to a 22-4 season that included a sectional championship and runner-up finish in the Hoosier Conference Tournament. She has compiled a 69-44 ledger in five seasons with the Tigers and has a career record of 251-144 over 17 seasons, including 11 years at Tri-Central and one year at Western. Layden guided Tri-Central to a 171-90 mark that included four sectional titles, three regional titles, three semistate titles and three Class A state crowns (2003, 2004 and 2005). She moved to Western for one season in 2010-11, then took over at Northwestern beginning in 2012-13. Layden was an assistant coach for the Indiana All-Stars in 2006.

>> Ramey guided North Central to a 27-1 season that included sectional, Marion County Tournament and Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championships. Her Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season. Ramey is 100-41 in six seasons as coach of the Panthers and 180-101 in 13 seasons as a girls’ varsity coach, including seven seasons at Richmond. Overall, her teams have won three sectionals (1991, 2012, 2017), one regional (2012), one semistate (2012) and one state crown (2012). She has been named an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

>> Bartley led Wood Memorial to a 28-1 season that included the Class A state championship. The team also claimed its first Blue Chip Conference title in 16 seasons in the league. In 19 seasons with the Lady Trojans, Bartley’s teams have compiled a 234-231 record. His teams have won 10 sectionals, two regionals, two semistates and also were the 2007 Class A state runners-up.

>> McBride directed Eastern (Pekin) to a 23-7 record, including the 2017 Class 2A state championship. He is 145-85 in 10 seasons with the Lady Musketeers, including one Mid-Southern Conference title and two sectional championships. He also served as varsity boys coach at Borden for four seasons from 2002-2006, a girls’ basketball assistant coach for one season at Henryville and was a college coach for nine seasons (three years as men’s assistant, one year as women’s head coach and one year as men’s head coach at Missouri Baptist plus four years as a men’s assistant at Brescia). McBride has been named head coach of the 2017 Indiana Girls Junior All-Stars.

All 12 coaches will receive plaques as a 2016-17 IBCA District Coach of the Year at the 2017 IBCA Clinic on April 21-22 at Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis.         The Coach of the Year award is named for the late Bob King, the IBCA executive director from 1984-94. King was a Lebanon native who coached at Sacred Heart and Shortridge high schools in Indianapolis before serving as an assistant basketball coach at Purdue and later an assistant and associate athletic director at Purdue.