Raiders hire new boys hoops coach

VW independent sports

HAVILAND — Wayne Trace didn’t have to go far to find its new head boys basketball coach.

Noah Goodrich was named as the new head coach at the June meeting of the Wayne Trace school board. He succeeds longtime head coach Jim Linder, who spent 17 seasons leading the Raiders and compiled a record of 284-131 at Wayne Trace. His teams won or shared 10 Green Meadows Conference titles, three district titles and a regional championship.

A native of Genoa, Ohio and a Defiance College basketball alum, Goodrich served as junior varsity coach under Linder during the 2024 season. Goodrich, a current teacher at Wayne Trace, brings several years of coaching experience to the position, including time with Ohio Reign, and Optimal Performance Fitness (OPF) AAU programs, as well as five seasons as a junior varsity coach at under Bodi Kauffman at Fairview High School. He credits both Kauffman and Linder as key mentors in his coaching journey and looks forward to building on the foundation they helped create.

“My primary goal is to uphold our program’s proud tradition while fostering the personal growth and character development of each student-athlete,” Goodrich stated. “With a strong core of returning varsity lettermen, we’ll definitely focus on capturing the GMC championship and making a deep, competitive run in the tournament.”

Goodrich added excited to lead in a community that lives and breathes basketball and said his goal is to continue a tradition of excellence at Wayne Trace, through performance on the court and the character the team displays off the court.