Wilson spurns Ringgold, new coach at Woody High

By JEREMY SELLEW

jsellew@yourmvi.com

For the second summer in a row, Ringgold will be looking for someone to guide its boys basketball program.

On Wednesday, Eugene Wilson was hired as the new boys coach at Woodland Hills High School. 

Ringgold athletic director said Wilson did send her a letter formally resigning but it was after this month’s scheduled school board meeting and can not be officially accepted until the board meets in June.

“He did send a letter,” Grimm said. “And it’s more of a formality at this point. As of now, assistant coach Matt Rowland is going to be the interim coach. He’s willing to see things through in the summer with workouts at our place and participating in a summer league.”

Grimm said she was “blindsided” by Wilson’s departure.

“There wasn’t signs he was out there looking for another job,” Grimm said. “I had no ideas he was exploring other opportunities.

“When he got hired, we had an honest and frank conversation about the state of the program and the shared vision we had where we wanted it to go. A big part of that was I wanted there to be transparency and honesty. I was definitely blindsided by the mere thought of him leaving.”

Wilson said he’s always had Woodland Hills as a “Top 2” of schools he would be interested in coaching if the job came open.

“I never thought it would be available this quickly. Ultimately, the distance was the deciding factor. WH is only 12 minutes away from my home and eight minutes from my office,” Wilson said via text message. “Ringgold was an hour away and included tolls. The kids were phenomenal at Ringgold and I think they have a lot to build on. Getting home at 11 p.m. every night was a bit challenging.”

To read the rest of the story, please see a copy of Saturday’s Mon Valley Independent, call 724-314-0035 to subscribe or subscribe to our online edition at http://monvalleyindependent.com.