A storied career
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Dennis Overstake's career as the McClain Lady Tigers' varsity head coach has come to an end after 32 seasons.
On Tuesday, during a Greenfield Exempted Village School Board meeting, due to union rules, the longtime head coach of the Lady Tigers and the face of the program for over three decades was not brought back to the program he's led.
He's 15th place all-time in girls basketball coaching wins in the state.
"I really can't give a political answer as to why I wasn't brought back, but in a nutshell, because of contracts with the board of education and the teacher union, my application wasn't looked at because I was a retired teacher and they had other applicants," Overstake said.
[[In-content Ad]]Not wanting to get on a negative tone, Overstake began to speak about his career, and what a career it was. He finishes with an overall record of 501-211, including two South Central Ohio League championships, two Southern Buckeye Academic & Athletic Conference titles, 17 sectional championships, six district titles and were regional runners-up during the 2001-02 season.
Overstake's career began as the varsity head coach in the 1981-82 season, where his first win came on Dec. 3, 1981 in a 59-38 victory vs. Wilmington. His final win at the helm came on Feb. 13, 2013 in a 56-47 victory vs. Madison-Plains.
He was the third coach in Lady Tiger history, replacing John Miller, and before him, the head coach was Sharon Hiles.
"My very first year of coaching, our primary player at the time (Robyn Curry) was out. She was a junior that year and had appendicitis, so we were off to a rocky start that first season."
The "rocky start" turned into a 16-5 overall record, beginning a streak of 11 consecutive winning seasons, spanning through the 1991-92 season where MHS finished 19-4. In that span of 11 consecutive winning seasons to start his coaching career, Overstake's teams compiled a mark of 185-56 with the aforementioned two SCOL titles and five sectional championships.
"I'm very appreciative of having the opportunity to coach 35 years (three years combined at junior high and JV) at one school," Overstake said. "I coached the junior high boys, and the next two years, I coached the JV girls.
"I got the chance to become head coach when John (Miller) accepted the middle school assistant principal position. That allowed me to apply in 1981."
In Overstake's time as a JV coach, he showed what was to come … lots of winning, as the JV teams were 32-3 in those two seasons.
His 100th win came on Dec. 28, 1987 vs. Peebles by a 51-35 score. Overstake's team had just six seasons where they had more losses than wins, with the first coming in 1992-93.
"Like I've said before … I've been blessed with a lot of good players who were able to think for themselves on the floor," Overstake said. "I've been blessed with great teams.
"When you walk through the gym lobby there are pictures of six district championship teams I've coaches, and I'm very proud of those teams. When we had those wins, it was the result of the players."
After the first losing year, the Lady Tigers regrouped for the 1993-94 season with a 14-6 mark, a season that included his 200th win on Feb. 17, 1994 by a 64-40 score against East Clinton, a season that included his sixth sectional crown.
The 14-win 1993-94 season was followed by four more seasons with a winning record, including three straight district titles sandwiched in that five-year span.
"At McClain, we've always talked defense," Overstake said. "Both Rick (VanMatre) and I believed in winning with defense, whether it be the boys or girls programs. My goal at times was to hold our opponent to the high 30s in scoring, and we could win the game.
"If we couldn't get it done offensively, we'd get it done on defense. Again, to have been able to do this for 32 years, I've been blessed to have players who could play both offense and defense to make not only a complete player, but a complete team."
Overstake has seen a lot of change in student-athletes during the past three decades, speaking about how the game has evolved.
"I've been able to see more teams have more players," he said. "What I'm talking about is for a long time, teams had maybe one or two players who were good, but defense could stop them. We did that in '83 against Circleville. We ran a triangle-two by stopping their best players.
"We never have had teams that have been blessed with great speed, but we would play the quarter-court defense and not much press. We wanted to go head-to-head, toe-to-toe and use our defense to stop them."
Following a season of 11-11 in 1998-99, some of the greatest years of Lady Tigers basketball occurred where the teams from the 1999-00 season to the 2002-03 campaign won no fewer than 20 games per season, with totals of 20, 22, 25 and 21. During this span of winning, Overstake won his 300th game on Jan. 13, 2000 vs. Miami Trace by a 56-37 score, as that 1999-00 team went 20-2 overall.
The following year was followed with a 22-3 season that saw a district title, and in 2001-02, MHS were the regional runners-up, with a team led by All-Ohio player Sarah Hull, and undefeated in the SBAAC for the first of two straight seasons, as they finished 25-1 overall, followed with a season of 21-2.
"A couple of the teams which stand out are the regional final team that won 25 games and the undefeated years in the SBC really stand out," Overstake said of some of the top teams he's coached. "But there have been other moments which stand out. I was really glad to have Emma Gall (Thorne) and Audra Branham (Cook) coach with me, as I was able to coach them when they played."
The next four seasons had a combined 33 wins, including win No. 400 on Nov. 24, 2006 with a 61-52 score vs. Whiteoak.
From the 2006-07 season to this past season, the Lady Tigers had no fewer than 10 wins per year, as the 2008-09 team won the last district championship for Overstake, with the win coming at the Convocation Center at Ohio University.
Overstake's 500th win came on Feb. 6, 2013, on the road, in a 54-49 victory against the Washington Lady Blue Lions.
"Throughout all the years, I took great pride in every one of the games," the 32-year varsity head coach said. "The players and their families were just as happy over the wins as I was, and I'm proud of that. Looking at the pictures of the teams, the milestone wins, seeing all the players … it is very gratifying."
Family was big for Overstake throughout his coaching career at MHS, as his wife Dixie attended every game, running the video camera, and daughter Kayla, whom Overstake also coached during her high school career, helped scout.
"It is very satisfying to know the support I've had from my family and families of those I've coached," he said. "I got to coach my daughter, and I've coached a number of families where I've coached the mother, then years later I've coached her daughter.
"I've coached sets of sisters, and everyone I've coached … I would not have any of the wins and success without them."
The conversation continued to talk about family.
"Dixie played basketball, so basketball has always been a big part of us," Overstake said. "Her parents and my parents came to the games, and Dixie was always doing something at the games. It's been special."
One person Overstake made sure to mention was Karen Yeager, as she's been keeping the scorebook and organizing stats for over three decades.
"She's been here all the years, too," Overstake said. "She made sure whomever needed the stats got them, and I can't thank her enough for all her time and work."
As always with Overstake, he wanted to talk about his players.
"I can't say enough how appreciative of the opportunity I had as head coach," he said. "I coached players who wanted to play the game of basketball and play the game as a team.
"I was allowed to run the program the way I wanted to be successful and had several administrations and athletic directors who were hands-off and allowed us to make it our program. Everyone who was involved with the program, I just want say thank you."
On Tuesday, during a Greenfield Exempted Village School Board meeting, due to union rules, the longtime head coach of the Lady Tigers and the face of the program for over three decades was not brought back to the program he's led.
He's 15th place all-time in girls basketball coaching wins in the state.
"I really can't give a political answer as to why I wasn't brought back, but in a nutshell, because of contracts with the board of education and the teacher union, my application wasn't looked at because I was a retired teacher and they had other applicants," Overstake said.
[[In-content Ad]]Not wanting to get on a negative tone, Overstake began to speak about his career, and what a career it was. He finishes with an overall record of 501-211, including two South Central Ohio League championships, two Southern Buckeye Academic & Athletic Conference titles, 17 sectional championships, six district titles and were regional runners-up during the 2001-02 season.
Overstake's career began as the varsity head coach in the 1981-82 season, where his first win came on Dec. 3, 1981 in a 59-38 victory vs. Wilmington. His final win at the helm came on Feb. 13, 2013 in a 56-47 victory vs. Madison-Plains.
He was the third coach in Lady Tiger history, replacing John Miller, and before him, the head coach was Sharon Hiles.
"My very first year of coaching, our primary player at the time (Robyn Curry) was out. She was a junior that year and had appendicitis, so we were off to a rocky start that first season."
The "rocky start" turned into a 16-5 overall record, beginning a streak of 11 consecutive winning seasons, spanning through the 1991-92 season where MHS finished 19-4. In that span of 11 consecutive winning seasons to start his coaching career, Overstake's teams compiled a mark of 185-56 with the aforementioned two SCOL titles and five sectional championships.
"I'm very appreciative of having the opportunity to coach 35 years (three years combined at junior high and JV) at one school," Overstake said. "I coached the junior high boys, and the next two years, I coached the JV girls.
"I got the chance to become head coach when John (Miller) accepted the middle school assistant principal position. That allowed me to apply in 1981."
In Overstake's time as a JV coach, he showed what was to come … lots of winning, as the JV teams were 32-3 in those two seasons.
His 100th win came on Dec. 28, 1987 vs. Peebles by a 51-35 score. Overstake's team had just six seasons where they had more losses than wins, with the first coming in 1992-93.
"Like I've said before … I've been blessed with a lot of good players who were able to think for themselves on the floor," Overstake said. "I've been blessed with great teams.
"When you walk through the gym lobby there are pictures of six district championship teams I've coaches, and I'm very proud of those teams. When we had those wins, it was the result of the players."
After the first losing year, the Lady Tigers regrouped for the 1993-94 season with a 14-6 mark, a season that included his 200th win on Feb. 17, 1994 by a 64-40 score against East Clinton, a season that included his sixth sectional crown.
The 14-win 1993-94 season was followed by four more seasons with a winning record, including three straight district titles sandwiched in that five-year span.
"At McClain, we've always talked defense," Overstake said. "Both Rick (VanMatre) and I believed in winning with defense, whether it be the boys or girls programs. My goal at times was to hold our opponent to the high 30s in scoring, and we could win the game.
"If we couldn't get it done offensively, we'd get it done on defense. Again, to have been able to do this for 32 years, I've been blessed to have players who could play both offense and defense to make not only a complete player, but a complete team."
Overstake has seen a lot of change in student-athletes during the past three decades, speaking about how the game has evolved.
"I've been able to see more teams have more players," he said. "What I'm talking about is for a long time, teams had maybe one or two players who were good, but defense could stop them. We did that in '83 against Circleville. We ran a triangle-two by stopping their best players.
"We never have had teams that have been blessed with great speed, but we would play the quarter-court defense and not much press. We wanted to go head-to-head, toe-to-toe and use our defense to stop them."
Following a season of 11-11 in 1998-99, some of the greatest years of Lady Tigers basketball occurred where the teams from the 1999-00 season to the 2002-03 campaign won no fewer than 20 games per season, with totals of 20, 22, 25 and 21. During this span of winning, Overstake won his 300th game on Jan. 13, 2000 vs. Miami Trace by a 56-37 score, as that 1999-00 team went 20-2 overall.
The following year was followed with a 22-3 season that saw a district title, and in 2001-02, MHS were the regional runners-up, with a team led by All-Ohio player Sarah Hull, and undefeated in the SBAAC for the first of two straight seasons, as they finished 25-1 overall, followed with a season of 21-2.
"A couple of the teams which stand out are the regional final team that won 25 games and the undefeated years in the SBC really stand out," Overstake said of some of the top teams he's coached. "But there have been other moments which stand out. I was really glad to have Emma Gall (Thorne) and Audra Branham (Cook) coach with me, as I was able to coach them when they played."
The next four seasons had a combined 33 wins, including win No. 400 on Nov. 24, 2006 with a 61-52 score vs. Whiteoak.
From the 2006-07 season to this past season, the Lady Tigers had no fewer than 10 wins per year, as the 2008-09 team won the last district championship for Overstake, with the win coming at the Convocation Center at Ohio University.
Overstake's 500th win came on Feb. 6, 2013, on the road, in a 54-49 victory against the Washington Lady Blue Lions.
"Throughout all the years, I took great pride in every one of the games," the 32-year varsity head coach said. "The players and their families were just as happy over the wins as I was, and I'm proud of that. Looking at the pictures of the teams, the milestone wins, seeing all the players … it is very gratifying."
Family was big for Overstake throughout his coaching career at MHS, as his wife Dixie attended every game, running the video camera, and daughter Kayla, whom Overstake also coached during her high school career, helped scout.
"It is very satisfying to know the support I've had from my family and families of those I've coached," he said. "I got to coach my daughter, and I've coached a number of families where I've coached the mother, then years later I've coached her daughter.
"I've coached sets of sisters, and everyone I've coached … I would not have any of the wins and success without them."
The conversation continued to talk about family.
"Dixie played basketball, so basketball has always been a big part of us," Overstake said. "Her parents and my parents came to the games, and Dixie was always doing something at the games. It's been special."
One person Overstake made sure to mention was Karen Yeager, as she's been keeping the scorebook and organizing stats for over three decades.
"She's been here all the years, too," Overstake said. "She made sure whomever needed the stats got them, and I can't thank her enough for all her time and work."
As always with Overstake, he wanted to talk about his players.
"I can't say enough how appreciative of the opportunity I had as head coach," he said. "I coached players who wanted to play the game of basketball and play the game as a team.
"I was allowed to run the program the way I wanted to be successful and had several administrations and athletic directors who were hands-off and allowed us to make it our program. Everyone who was involved with the program, I just want say thank you."