Coach VanMatre earns OHSBCA Hall of Fame honors
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Rick VanMatre coaching legacy will live on forever as the 28-year coach of the McClain Tigers was recently named to the 2012 Class of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.
In 28 seasons, VanMatre's teams averaged almost 17 wins per season, with six 20-plus win seasons. They won eight South Central Ohio League championships, 16 sectional titles, eight district titles and were regional runner-ups three times.
All of that now has added up to a Hall of Fame career.
"Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this would happen when I first began coaching," VanMatre said. "I never thought I would coach enough years or win enough games to be compared to many great coaches."
VanMatre said while playing in high school, he looked up to current Hall of Famers Tom Cuppert (Chillicothe) and CD Hawhee (Waverly). The longtime coach also spoke highly of getting the opportunity to coach against or watch Gary Shaffer (Washington C.H.), Henderson Thompson (Western) and Larry Jordan (Southeastern).
"All of those coaches that I either looked up to or even coached against, it's just special to be mentioned in their company," VanMatre said. "When I was in high school, I played against Cuppert, and he's one of those legendary people I looked up to."
The legacy and "Tradition of Winning" for the boys basketball program began for VanMatre in 1981-82, when he took over a program that had four wins in two seasons before his arrival.
"My old high school coach applied for the job, but turned it down," VanMatre said. "He told me about it, and I applied and got the job."
In his first season as head coach, VanMatre and his players had a 19-3 season, a 17-win improvement from the previous season. They followed the season with a 19-5 mark in 1982-83 and then a 15-7 mark in the '83-84 season.
Then everything came together for the Tigers as they began a streak for the next three seasons with a combined record of 71-5 with a 25-1 mark in the '86-87 campaign.
"We had the most talent my first 10 years as coach," VanMatre said. "We rarely had a underclassman on the team with mostly juniors and seniors at the varsity level. We had great success and great athletes."
VanMatre not only credits his players for this accomplishment, but his coaching staff, as he had Tim Gossett and Joe Wisecup for over 20 years on his staff, along with Brandon Streitenberger, Brian Corey, Dave Payton, current McClain boys basketball varsity head coach Brent Eaton and several others for multiple years on his staff. VanMatre said he was lucky to have Todd Ralph coaching at the junior high level for around 15 years.
"I was smart enough to surround myself with good people," VanMatre said. "They stuck around for 20-plus years with me, and I was very fortunate to have them with me.
"It's unbelievable if you think about it because we rarely had turnovers within the coaching staff. They were a great coaching fraternity, and we had a lot of fun together. We all took pride in the program."
These days, there aren't many coaches who put in the time to stay 28 years at one school … not for VanMatre.
"What I'm proudest of the most is all of my wins came from one school," he said. "We never moved and were always happy here."
VanMatre said he had just two losing seasons (counting the postseason), and he credits that success to being able to build the tradition of winning during the '80s.
"It was the combination of the talent we had in the '80s, the community being excited and the kids being excited to play for the program. Then in the '90s, we may have not had the same type of players, but we still kept the tradition going because of what we built in the '80s.
"I credit the coaching staff again because in the junior high level, they taught the fundamentals that were needed once they got to the high school level. Then in the 2000s, we had the talent again."
The '80s were a great time to be a McClain fan. From 1981 to the '89-90 season, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 161-49, including SCOL titles in '83, '84, '86 and '87; district titles in '84, '85, '86 and '87; and regional runner-up titles in '86 and '87.
He said at that time, the community support was at its highest.
"I can't say that I have a favorite team throughout my years, but in the '87 season, we lost in triple overtime in the regional finals where we sold out the Dayton Hara Arena," VanMatre said. "I'll never forget when our AD (in the 1986 regional finals) asked them for 5,000 tickets to sell, and they couldn't believe it.
"In '87, we packed the Coliseum in Columbus, and in the 2000s, during Danté's (Jackson) senior year, we had 8,000 people in the Convocation Center."
When VanMatre, a two-time Associated Press Division II Coach of the Year, found out he had been selected to the Hall of Fame, he said he was surprised.
"I can't say that I wasn't surprised because I was," he said. "It is a tremendous honor … the greatest honor I've ever had in sports. It is a select group, plus it makes you realize how old you are getting.
"We could never have had the success without our athletes. They were a joy to coach, and they were great people. They all made a lot of personal sacrifices, and again, it was just special to stay in one place."
VanMatre also said none of this would be possible without his family.
"My wife (Kathy) and son Andrew (a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati) were always there for me," he said. "I coached overall for 34 years and was married for most of them. Kathy was always gracious with her support and was always there for me."
VanMatre will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 28.[[In-content Ad]]
In 28 seasons, VanMatre's teams averaged almost 17 wins per season, with six 20-plus win seasons. They won eight South Central Ohio League championships, 16 sectional titles, eight district titles and were regional runner-ups three times.
All of that now has added up to a Hall of Fame career.
"Not in my wildest dreams would I have ever thought this would happen when I first began coaching," VanMatre said. "I never thought I would coach enough years or win enough games to be compared to many great coaches."
VanMatre said while playing in high school, he looked up to current Hall of Famers Tom Cuppert (Chillicothe) and CD Hawhee (Waverly). The longtime coach also spoke highly of getting the opportunity to coach against or watch Gary Shaffer (Washington C.H.), Henderson Thompson (Western) and Larry Jordan (Southeastern).
"All of those coaches that I either looked up to or even coached against, it's just special to be mentioned in their company," VanMatre said. "When I was in high school, I played against Cuppert, and he's one of those legendary people I looked up to."
The legacy and "Tradition of Winning" for the boys basketball program began for VanMatre in 1981-82, when he took over a program that had four wins in two seasons before his arrival.
"My old high school coach applied for the job, but turned it down," VanMatre said. "He told me about it, and I applied and got the job."
In his first season as head coach, VanMatre and his players had a 19-3 season, a 17-win improvement from the previous season. They followed the season with a 19-5 mark in 1982-83 and then a 15-7 mark in the '83-84 season.
Then everything came together for the Tigers as they began a streak for the next three seasons with a combined record of 71-5 with a 25-1 mark in the '86-87 campaign.
"We had the most talent my first 10 years as coach," VanMatre said. "We rarely had a underclassman on the team with mostly juniors and seniors at the varsity level. We had great success and great athletes."
VanMatre not only credits his players for this accomplishment, but his coaching staff, as he had Tim Gossett and Joe Wisecup for over 20 years on his staff, along with Brandon Streitenberger, Brian Corey, Dave Payton, current McClain boys basketball varsity head coach Brent Eaton and several others for multiple years on his staff. VanMatre said he was lucky to have Todd Ralph coaching at the junior high level for around 15 years.
"I was smart enough to surround myself with good people," VanMatre said. "They stuck around for 20-plus years with me, and I was very fortunate to have them with me.
"It's unbelievable if you think about it because we rarely had turnovers within the coaching staff. They were a great coaching fraternity, and we had a lot of fun together. We all took pride in the program."
These days, there aren't many coaches who put in the time to stay 28 years at one school … not for VanMatre.
"What I'm proudest of the most is all of my wins came from one school," he said. "We never moved and were always happy here."
VanMatre said he had just two losing seasons (counting the postseason), and he credits that success to being able to build the tradition of winning during the '80s.
"It was the combination of the talent we had in the '80s, the community being excited and the kids being excited to play for the program. Then in the '90s, we may have not had the same type of players, but we still kept the tradition going because of what we built in the '80s.
"I credit the coaching staff again because in the junior high level, they taught the fundamentals that were needed once they got to the high school level. Then in the 2000s, we had the talent again."
The '80s were a great time to be a McClain fan. From 1981 to the '89-90 season, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 161-49, including SCOL titles in '83, '84, '86 and '87; district titles in '84, '85, '86 and '87; and regional runner-up titles in '86 and '87.
He said at that time, the community support was at its highest.
"I can't say that I have a favorite team throughout my years, but in the '87 season, we lost in triple overtime in the regional finals where we sold out the Dayton Hara Arena," VanMatre said. "I'll never forget when our AD (in the 1986 regional finals) asked them for 5,000 tickets to sell, and they couldn't believe it.
"In '87, we packed the Coliseum in Columbus, and in the 2000s, during Danté's (Jackson) senior year, we had 8,000 people in the Convocation Center."
When VanMatre, a two-time Associated Press Division II Coach of the Year, found out he had been selected to the Hall of Fame, he said he was surprised.
"I can't say that I wasn't surprised because I was," he said. "It is a tremendous honor … the greatest honor I've ever had in sports. It is a select group, plus it makes you realize how old you are getting.
"We could never have had the success without our athletes. They were a joy to coach, and they were great people. They all made a lot of personal sacrifices, and again, it was just special to stay in one place."
VanMatre also said none of this would be possible without his family.
"My wife (Kathy) and son Andrew (a sophomore at the University of Cincinnati) were always there for me," he said. "I coached overall for 34 years and was married for most of them. Kathy was always gracious with her support and was always there for me."
VanMatre will be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, April 28.[[In-content Ad]]