By: Joe Blystone
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
FAYETTE – Coaching basketball at a small Division IV school in the middle of a largely rural area is hard. You play with what you have because there are no move-ins, no recruits, just the kids who have grown up there and lived in the community their entire lives whether they play basketball or not, so your talent side may or may not be there every year.
Making it for 23 years and to continue wanting to coach every year is even harder. At Fayette, Todd Mitchell made it those 23 years, coaching who he had to 253 wins and a trip to the 2016 Division IV regional tournament to his credit.
There was one thing you knew if you played against one of Mitchell’s Eagle teams. No matter if they were skilled or not, you better be ready because if you played for Todd Mitchell, you better play hard, or you’ll be sitting next to him on the bench.
After creating a culture that opponents knew you darn well better be ready to play the Eagles, Mitchell decided recently that the most recent season would be his last as a basketball coach and retired.
“I’ve had a really supportive administration for the most part and a lot of really good kids,” Mitchell said as he recollected his seasons at Fayette.
“Maybe the main thing is having a really supportive family. My family has been here pretty much from the jump, I got married my second year here and my wife Amy has been a part of it all.”
“My kids, Quinn, Wyatt and Willow, have been a part of the program so it’s been a family affair the whole time.”
“I’ve had a lot of great coaches. Rodney Kessler and Matt Maginn have been with me the entire time which is almost unheard of keeping the same assistants that long.”
“I’ve had a lot of great other coaches along the way too. I’ve been around a lot of good people and very enjoyable to work around a lot of great guys every day.”
Fayette’s OHSAA male enrollment number for the previous season was only 42. Mitchell said he never looked at the limited enrollment as a detriment and made a point of teams that overachieved because of the work ethic the kids had in his program.
“The thing that is great about basketball, especially in a small town, is you know what you are going to get. Sometimes I start looking at kids when they come into (my PE) class in kindergarten and see them all the way up.”
“When you see them work all the way up to hopefully get better or enthused about playing it makes them buy into their roles on the team.”
“The best team was the 2016 team that went to the regional but I remember the team after that in which we only won eight games because we lost so much from the previous year, but those kids gave us everything and I mean everything they had every day on the court.”
“There have been so many things, like a rollercoaster. You go down the hill because of the failures but then the climb back up with each success is so rewarding.”
Mitchell said one of the things he will remember are the games against the great players and great coaches.
“Those games against the guys I got to coach against, it’s like a fraternity. You see what other coaches put into it, the sacrifices they make, you will always have your critics but it’s always good to get together with the other guys, brainstorm with them and see what they have been through.”
“I think of the Paul Wayne’s, the Jerry Keifer’s, the Doug Krauss’s, the Joe Frank’s and think about the successes they had and just talk to guys like them, learn from them and be friends with them is kind of cool.”
In today’s day of social media critics, you will find many people who think they know the game of basketball and can do better. The high school win total of afore mentioned critics is a combined zero.
Mitchell echoed the comments of those previously mentioned coaching legends. “If you listen to your nay-sayers and people in the stands, you’ll probably be sitting with them pretty shortly.”
“The kids get it, 99 percent of them get it and they understand because they are at practice every day and know what’s going on.’
“They know who shows up during the summer and know who is the most invested. They know who the best players are and should be on the floor and it isn’t far off of who I’ll put on the floor. The kids are what it’s all about and it’s been a great run with the kids.”
As far as plans for life after basketball, Mitchell had recent shoulder surgery but said that won’t hold him back very long.
“As soon as I get this rehabbed, I’d like to be back on the golf course and playing pickleball. We are planning a vacation and going to Hilton Head this summer and I’ll be following my daughter Willow around with her sports the next couple years and see where it goes from there.”
Whatever the game is that he will play, history will tell you, Mitchell will play it as hard or to the best of his ability as his kids did for him.