Thursday, May 2nd, 2013
Stetler stepping down at Celina
By Ryan Hines
CELINA - After one of the most successful seasons in program history, Celina is searching for a new girls basketball coach after Brian Stetler announced his resignation.
Stetler, who has been the career based intervention coordinator at Tri-Star since 2000, has accepted the position of assistant principal at Celina High School for next year. Since Celina has a policy that administrators cannot coach, Stetler is stepping down.
"This was an extremely difficult decision for me to make. I spent a lot of time thinking about it with my family. For me and my career, the timing is pretty good," said Stetler. "I have been coaching at some capacity for the last 25 years and it will definitely be a change for me, but it's a challenge that I'm looking forward to."
"We appreciate all that Brian has done for us at Celina. He was always dependable and worked well with the kids," said Celina athletic director Bruce Boley. "He was well-respected by his peers and in the league. I'm sorry to see him step down. He was a class act and he will be a tough act to follow."
Stetler's Bulldogs finished last season 22-3 and were eliminated from the tournament in the district finals for the second straight year by Bath. Stetler had a record 133-75 during his nine years as head coach at Celina. He guided the Bulldogs to a Western Buckeye League championship in 2007-08 and Celina has won seven straight sectional titles.
"I thoroughly enjoyed my time as head coach at Celina and I have a lot of great memories. We have had some success through the years, but it's the people that I will miss the most," said Stetler. "I've developed some wonderful relationships with some really good people while coaching at Celina and have hung on to a lot of them through their adult life."
Stetler's position has been posted on-line with a deadline for applications on May 10.
Stetler was also a head coach for New Knoxville's boys basketball team for seven years prior to arriving at Celina and had a record of 94-33 while with the Rangers. During his tenure at New Knoxville, Stetler coached future Northwestern great and NBA player Evan Eschmeyer.
"I had a lot of great moments while at New Knoxville too. I was 25 years old at the time I got that job and coaching Evan Eschmeyer was a great experience," said Stetler. "I had the opportunity to coach with some really great people at New Knoxville and Celina. I will miss that part."
