By Dan Messerschmidt
 CCN Sports Director

Last week, Buckeye Central boys’ head basketball coach Phil Loy announced his resignation.

While that may not seem to be earthshaking news to some, it will have a definite impact on the small community in and around New Washington, Ohio.

Loy was the man who came home and made it work. After college and a brief stint in industry, he decided that Buckeye Central would be his future.

In his 14 years at the BC helm, Loy compiled a 185-137 record. His 54.5 winning percentage is nearly identical to the Bucks’ overall winning percentage since the school’s inception in 1960-61. He goes down as the longest-tenured coach in school history.

His teams made two regional tournament appearances — in 2006-07 at the Fairgrounds Coliseum in Columbus and in 2013-14 at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green — and one district final in 2014-15. The fact that BC won only one North Central Conference or Northern 10 Athletic Conference title is a testament to the incredible competition Loy faced in those two leagues.

Winning was all Loy, a 1983 Buckeye Central graduate, knew. He was the sixth man on coach Steve Mohr’s state runner-up team his senior year. During Loy’s four years in high school, the basketball team compiled a record of 87-15 under Mohr and Dick Heath.

After playing two years at Northwestern Business College in Lima, Loy played at Shawnee State from 1988-90 and stayed as coach Jim Arnzen’s student assistant for two more years.

He finally made his way home in 2001-02 when then coach Jan Bates brought Loy into the system as a lay coach. He was promoted to varsity assistant in 2002, a position he held for two years, before he was hired as head coach in spring of 2004.

Interestingly, Loy was not in the Buckeye Central system as a teacher at first. He was, in fact, a stay-at-home dad until the 2007-08 school year, his first full year of teaching.

Prior to that, he managed the driving range across the road from Cranberry Hills golf course, made golf clubs and did some substitute teaching. His wife, Shelli, supported her husband’s passion to coach with her job as a pharmacist.

Though big in stature — he is a presence on the sideline — Loy is low-key and mild mannered (of course, his players may have seen a different side of him at practices). He was respected by players, officials, the media and opposing coaches.

For the past couple of years, Loy has also been the athletic director at Buckeye Central and will remain with the district in that capacity.

I have known Phil Loy for almost 25 years, first in pick-up games on Wednesday nights in what is affectionately known as Old Men’s League at Buckeye Central. I witnessed iconic battles there between Loy and fellow big men such as Roger Nedolast, Kenny Krebs, Brett Kaple and others.

As a member of the press, I have covered more of his games as a coach than I can recall. I was called upon to write the story of his hiring. As both coach and athletic director, he has been the consummate professional. I know I will not be alone in saying he will be missed.

Loy has had the privilege of coaching his two sons. Grant is now playing football at Bowling Green and Max will be graduating from Buckeye Central in a few weeks.

“The administration left it up to me,” Loy said of his coaching/AD duties. “They have been very supportive.”

But all good things come to an end and Loy felt this was the time to step away. “When you take a job, you never think about how long it will last,” he said.

Coaching is still in his blood and he has not ruled out a return, whether to basketball or another sport, perhaps even as an assistant.

“I’d never say never, especially when Grant’s football career is over,” Loy said. “When he steps away from the game, who knows?”

In the meantime, Loy is charged with hiring his successor. With no one in-house interested, he will put on his AD hat and sift through resumes.

The history of Buckeye Central basketball will likely attract some good candidates. And whoever ultimately gets the job will have the added advantage of being able to tap into Loy’s expertise and experience.

If Loy can land a clone of himself, he won’t have to do another basketball coach search until 2032.

Phone: 208-530-3035