{"id":115695,"date":"2019-04-01T07:16:56","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T12:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=115695"},"modified":"2019-04-01T08:00:05","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T13:00:05","slug":"bagley-resigns-as-van-wert-hoops-coach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2019\/04\/01\/bagley-resigns-as-van-wert-hoops-coach\/","title":{"rendered":"Bagley resigns as Van Wert hoops coach"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent sports editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Wert boys\u2019 basketball coach Mark Bagley has announced his resignation\/retirement. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is time to pursue other goals and dreams and I thank the Van Wert City School District, Board of Education, and administration for putting their trust and faith in me as a leader of young men,\u201d Bagley said in letter to the Van Wert City Schools Board of Education, administration and fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Mark Bagley<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

During Bagley\u2019s six seasons at the helm, the Cougars went 67-78, including a 16-10 record and a district runner-up finish during the 2018-2019 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe expectations I have put on myself and the program have affected me as losing has become too difficult and winning never seems to be enough,\u201d Bagley added. \u201c I do not have any desire to coach again at any level or anywhere else. It is time for a new era of Cougar basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did not win as much as I would have liked, but my relationships with former players and being a servant leader is what I leave behind for others to follow. Winning is important, but I hope to never associate my success in life or what kind of person I am based on wins or losses. I will always be a Cougar and expect the program to flourish and become even better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bagley spent a total of 26 years in the coaching ranks, beginning as Ottoville\u2019s eighth grade coach in 1993. After two seasons, he became Van Wert\u2019s junior varsity coach, a position he held for eight seasons (112-48). He spent 10 seasons as the varsity assistant under then coach Dave Froelich, then was named head coach before the start of the 2013-2014 season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe players are what make this all happen and I can\u2019t thank them enough for the joy provided in my 26 years,\u201d Bagley said. \u201cWe were fortunate to coach great players and more important, better people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was able to coach my son, nephews, and so many wonderful players. We do leave behind 56 players in the program that will do amazing things and I\u2019m sorry it never works out to coach every kid.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his resignation letter, Bagley also thanked previous and current coaches, along with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoaching with Jeff McMillan at Ottoville and Dave Froelich at Van Wert was the best thing that ever happened to me as a young man,\u201d Bagley said. \u201cThey trained and mentored me to do things the right way, compete with class, and always put everything and everyone above me as a servant leader.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCoaching is a family affair and the current coaches of Chris Covey, Ben Laudick, Brandon Miller, Jeff Hood, Kerry Koontz, Nate Hoverman and their families are why we coach and go through the good and bad times.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy family means the world to me and they have sacrificed so much,\u201d Bagley continued. \u201c I love them very much, and have put myself ahead of them for 26 years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c My wife, Rachelle, has been there for me the entire journey and always supported my love for basketball. Drew and Maria have embraced the coaching life, always wanted the best for me, and shared in my sorrows and joys. My grandparents, parents, brothers, sister and their families have always been Cougar Fans and provided great support.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Board of Education is expected formally accept Bagley\u2019s resignation as varsity basketball coach at the April 17 board meeting. The search for a new head coach will begin after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to a new boys\u2019 basketball coach, Van Wert will search for a new girls coach as well, after the recent resignation of Rob Adams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bagley year-by-year (varsity)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2013-2014: 11-13 (sectional finalist)
2014-2015: 7-16 (sectional finalist)
2015-2016: 7-17 (sectional finalist)
2016-2017: 13-11 (sectional finalist)
2017-2018: 13-11 (sectional champion, district semifinalist)
2018-2019: 16-10 (sectional champion, district runner-up)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent sports editor Van Wert boys\u2019 basketball coach Mark Bagley has announced his resignation\/retirement. \u201cIt is time to pursue other goals and dreams and I thank the Van Wert City School District, Board of Education, and administration for putting their trust and faith in me as a leader of young men,\u201d Bagley said in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 16:07:07","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115695","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115695"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115695\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115695"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115695"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115695"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}