NORTH ROBINSON — Chuck Huggins had a coaching career like few others. For 31 years, Huggins led an ultra-successful softball program at Colonel Crawford High School.
An era came to an end this week when the legendary coach announced his retirement.
“I feel very surreal now,” Huggins said of his retirement. “It’s almost like it hasn’t happened. I am just so humbled and honored at everybody who’s reaching out to me right now.”
It is more than longevity that has elicited the response Huggins is now receiving. Players, coaches, administrators and media attest to his personal integrity. He received the 2014 Ohio Sportsmanship, Ethics and Integrity award from the OHSAA. And, oh by the way, his teams won.
In 31 years, Huggins’ teams had winning records in 29 of those. He compiled a career record of 633-222. His teams won 17 conference championships, 25 sectional championships, 15 district championships and seven regional championships resulting in seven Final Four appearances.
In seven trips to the state tournament, Huggins’ Eagles finished runners-up three times (1993, 1999 and 2013) and won the state title in 1995. He was inducted into the Ohio High School Fastpitch Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and elected to the Crawford County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. Fittingly, the field he coached on at Colonel Crawford was named Chuck Huggins Field in 2007.
“To be able to coach my entire career at one school was always rewarding,” Huggins said. “When that schools’ your alma mater, that’s just icing on the cake. In some way, you want to give back and I hope I have.”
Huggins’ commitment was confirmed by his current athletic director, David Sheldon.
“No one loves Colonel Crawford more than Chuck Huggins,” Sheldon said. “He bleeds black and gold. He grew up an Eagle and coached here 31 years. The relationships he developed with his players, they were the true definition of more daughters. That led to the success of the program.”
Huggins’ getting the softball job in the first place was a case of the job seeking the man rather than the man seeking the job.
“Fro (then athletic director Dave Froelich) hired me,” Huggins recalled. “In the fall of 1987, I remember him coming up to me and saying, ‘Huggs, I need a softball coach.’ I said, ‘You might have found your guy.’”
Little did either of them know how correct Huggins’ self-assessment was.
“I had a softball (playing) background,” Huggins said. “I was a baseball player who had a lot of slow pitch background. I knew very little about the game, but I was willing to work at it and learn and try to be a sponge, to learn from anybody I could.”
He noted that he had the privilege of working for and with four great athletic directors in Froelich, Sheldon, Dave Burkett and Steve Mohr.
“That right there are four class acts,” Huggins said. “They are some of my very best friends.”
Huggins taught at Colonel Crawford for 32 years, subjects including math, science and language arts, retiring in 2013, the last year his team went to the state tournament. Current principal Jake Bruner and superintendent Todd Martin were two of his students.
“I think back to our administration,” Huggins said. “It was Jim Hudson and Bill Farrell. Now it’s Mr. Bruner and Mr. Martin. It’s amazing where the time has gone.”
Amazingly, Huggins has coached other sports along with softball over his tenure. He was an assistant varsity football coach for both Mike Cauley and Jeff Dawson. Huggins had two stints as head girls’ basketball coach, 1989-95 and 2006-10.
With all the success over the years, it would be difficult for the coach to single out any one that stood out from the others.
“Every team is special. Every team has their own characters and every team has their own characteristics,” Huggins joked. “It puts a smile on my face to think about the fun that we had, and I think that is such an important life lesson —No matter what you do, be sure you’re having fun. If you’re not having fun, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.”
The decision was not an easy one for Huggins, hence its being made in December rather than at the conclusion of last season.
“I’ve really, really, really weighed back and forth what the right thing is to do,” Huggins said. “My heart’s still into it, my head’s still into it. But I found out that I’m probably going to have to need to get my back taken care of. I’ve kind of been looking for some type of secondary answer to what I should do this year.
“I’ve never been one to do things half way and I just didn’t feel like I was going to be able to do everything I wanted to do.”
A big contributor to his success on the field is surrounding himself with good people. Foremost among them has been Carl Diebler.
“Carl Diebler has been a god send to me,” Huggins said. “He and I are so close, and we have worked so well together over the years. There’s nothing he and I can’t talk about. There’s nothing we haven’t been through together. And as good a coach as Carl Diebler is, he’s a super human being.”
The other, perhaps most important ingredient to Huggins’ career has been the support of his family. His wife of 36 years, Julia, and his children. His daughter, Natalie, has even followed in her dad’s footsteps, entering her third year as the softball coach at Shelby.
“No coach ever put a 31-year career together without a loving and supportive family,” Huggins said. “Mine has been awesome. My wife is a gem. She was there with a pat on the back after a win and a kick in the butt after a loss and telling me to get back after it.”
While Huggins can never really be replaced, the search for someone to take his place has commenced. Huggins hopes the new coach continues the tradition.
“Anytime you go to a game at Colonel Crawford you will see (the name) Chuck Huggins on the field,” Sheldon said. “And it’s deserved. We’ll find the best candidate to fill his spot.”
The job will be posted through January 4, 2019.
Huggins did not rule out coaching again in some capacity.
“While I’m rehabbing my body from my surgery, my brain’s still going to be working,” Huggins said. “I’ll never be too far from a softball field. It’s a short drive to Colonel Crawford and it’s a short drive to Shelby. This will free me up to be there a little more often. If (Natalie) wants me in her dugout, I’d be honored.”
He will also be able to catch up on the family time that went on hold to support his career, which now includes two grandchildren.
“We’re going to enjoy being grandma and grandpa,” Huggins said. “And we’ll get to do some traveling together.”
As Sheldon noted, Huggins will be missed, by the school and the community.