Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
Frye steps down at St. Marys to watch sons play
By Ryan Hines
After 11 successful seasons of directing the St. Marys football program, Doug Frye has decided to walk away as head coach of the Roughriders.
It was a difficult decision to make according to Frye, but with sons Bo and Koby playing football collegiately, it came down to a choice for more family time.
"This decision is a very difficult one. As I always tell our players - 'Family comes first,' " said Frye in an e-mailed note announcing his retirement from coaching the Roughriders. "It has been difficult getting to all of the college football games my sons have participated in. Kristi (Frye's wife) and I want to enjoy the games over the next three years. I took some time to make this decision as I waited for it to become clearer to me."
Bo and Koby Frye are teammates listed at running back for the University of St. Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Ind.
Frye had a successful tenure as the head coach of the Roughriders for 11 seasons compiling an 89-35 record with three Western Buckeye League championships and seven playoff appearances. No replacement has been chosen.
"The 11 years here have been great. Our community has been tremendously supportive. The young men I have had the pleasure to work with have been great," said Frye. "The support of our parents and school system has been tremendous. I thank everyone for the great support."
Although Frye won't be coaching anymore, he isn't going to leave St. Marys.
"Kristi and I plan to stay in St. Marys and teach. We love our community and school system," said Frye.
Frye thinks that the future looks bright for the Roughriders.
"The future of our football program looks very bright," said Frye. "Our JV team finished 7-1 and our freshman team was 6-2. Our numbers are very good with close to 100 young men lifting for football (this spring). Our kids always work very hard and I wish all the Roughrider teams great success in the future."
