After 36 years of coaching basketball at the high school level, South Western boys' basketball coach Bob Conrad is calling it quits.
Conrad, who has held the South Western job for three seasons and coached the New Oxford boys and girls teams in separate stretches before that, finished this season with a 7-8 mark in YAIAA Section 1 and a 9-14 overall record.
"I have a new granddaughter and I want to watch her grow up," Conrad said. "Coaching takes a lot of family time away and I want to spend more time with them."
Conrad said he told his team of his retirement after the last game of the year. The coach said he struggled with the decision and had a hard time delivering the news to the Mustangs.
"It was very tough. You do something for 36 years, and this group of kids I've grown very attached to. My wife and I sat down and she said: 'Are you sure you want to do this?' At the beginning of the year I said 'Yeah I think so.' As the year went on I had the new granddaughter and it became more apparent that this was the right think to do."
Conrad began his coaching career as an assistant for the New Oxford boys' basketball team in 1971. He took over as the head coach for the girls' team in 1980 and won a district title before taking the reins of the boys' squad in 1988. He won a YAIAA division title with the Colonials during his 9-year tenure at the helm and spent 1997-2005 as an assistant head coach for the boys' team at South Western. He was named the head coach before the 2005-06 season.
South Western athletic director Don Seidenstricker said he tried to talk Conrad out of deciding the retire, but the long-time coach was convinced it was time. Even though he knows it will be hard to walk away, Conrad believes he is ready.
"I know I'm going to miss it," Conrad said. "Coaching is in my blood."
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