se7ens

My take on the program under Coach Shields - he ran his system of taking the air out of the ball on offense and a tight zone that made games, especially against schools of a similar size, ooze along and result in super low scoring affairs. That makes a team capable of winning against teams better than them (and losing to teams worse than them). Brian Coburn came in with a more standard way of going about things than the niche Shields system. Though never wildly successful, he got some wins during the career of Lexie Aytes and a middle school Kayla Unkraut. Unkraut leaves for St. Henry when she enters high school and Villa still hasn’t found anyone near the level of Unkraut or Aytes to be the engine to success. During that decline, Coburn left, giving rise to the Kortekamp Era. I think the legacy of Katie Kortekamp will be that she kept the program alive, which can’t be said for other small school girls programs across the state.

And the fifth 9th region All A school job is open. This position, to me, is one that is truly all about the kids because there are few programs, on either the boys or girls side, that have more trouble stringing together wins than this one.

Bumping this. Who do we expect to cause the next head coaching vacancy in the 9th?

Another All A school in the 9th region has a vacancy. Dayton really struggled this season and the participation isn't where they need it to be if they want to start competing for Div. III conference titles again. Next year is going to be tough with what they had on the roster to finish the year and with Bellevue coming back in full force but there is some hope for the future with the right hire here.

Honestly I think this a big time grab by East.

I hear what you are saying but the difference is pretty clear - Holmes is officially open and Covington Catholic still very much has a coach. Also I am starting to think about another name very familiar to this district who has had some wonderful rebuilds - Erik Goetz.

Amanda Wimsatt

Ouch. Yeah, those are some huge losses. I didn’t know about the early graduates.

They certainly had a promising start but weren't yet at the level to sustain that success. Certainly reason to believe they should be able to build off of that.

The off-season in the 9th is already looking juicy as the transfer rumor mill has already kicked up. Let's take a look at some of the burning questions around the region: Newport - Will they be able to replicate their success again now that Covington and Jackson are gone? Will a junior Kinney be healthy and even better than the sophomore version? Will their be any new additions as referenced already? Covington Catholic - Are things stable in Park Hills? Who can we expect to step up for the Colonels next year? Cooper - Are things in flux? Will Cooper be able to threaten for a regional title again? Holy Cross - Does Ricardo Johnson keep things moving in the right direction? Conner - Will the Cougars make a big hiring splash and improve their standing in the 33rd? Other burning questions - Will Boone and Ryle remain competitive in a tough district? Will Holmes bounce back some and who will they hire? Beechwood, St. Henry, and Newport Central Catholic are all vying for improvement and a run at the All A against Newport - is there any chance any of them can compete with the Wildcats? Please feel free to discuss all of these and beyond.

As we turn the lights off in the gym for the final time of the 2023-2024 season, it is now time to turn our attention to what lays ahead. And boy are we getting off to a loud off-season in the 12th region. Wayne County - How could we not start here? Rodney Woods, 38 year veteran coach of the Wayne County Cardinals, a man whose name is spoken with the same reverence as Bobby Keith and Jim Hicks, was let go from his post this past week by the new superintendent. What comes next for Coach Woods? Who fills his position in Monticello? The Cardinals are poised to have a huge year next year but will this move derail things? Pulaski County - Can they replicate the late season success they had? Will they be able to add any depth? Will their schedule toughen up at all in the front end? West Jessamine - Are we really looking at Steve Wright descending upon the northern part of the region? Can the next coach, be it him or someone else, get things going back in the right direction in Nicholasville? Danville Christian - Are they the early favorites to repeat as All A Champs as well as possibly the favorites to win it all? How much depth will they have? Somerset - Will Absher, Bruner, Lewis and Grundy be able to make the Jumpers competitive still following the losses of Godby, Whitaker and Coomer? Will Ryan Young still be at the helm? Other burning questions - Will a junior Walker Craig keep Rockcastle near the top of the region? Who does East Jessamine hire? Will Boyle be more consistent? Will Mercer have another run at region? Will Lincoln County be able to reload behind Cash Baird with the losses of Nuckols and Miracle? Is Southwestern ready to make the jump after a nice second half of the season? Please feel free to discuss these questions and beyond.

I am thinking they barely had enough by the end of the year to scrimmage in practice. They have a decent core I think they could build around but the end of the season numbers look really devastating. Could the right coach come in and get those to bounce back? Absolutely. Could the wrong one drive those numbers even further into the danger zone? Absolutely.

I agree. There's no reason not to give Sam a chance here.

So the top job for the girls program on the hill is back open after just one year as head coach Dan Albrinck is not retained. This follows the program's first ever loss to Bellevue, sending the Breds home in the district semifinals and propelling Bellevue to the regional tournament. I think you are going to see a ton of pressure on the new coach to win immediately as they should be set to compete for an All A regional title but also are in danger of not making it out of the district again as Highlands and Bellevue also return a lot.

Coach Clary has stepped down after two seasons as head coach.