By Gary Ogle
gogle@wbcowqel.com
A lot can happen in half a century. At Wynford many of the memorable things over the past 50 years happened on the basketball court – more than 800 wins, 32 sectional titles, two trips to the state tournament, and too many trips to count up high school basketball’s “stairway to heaven.”
“There are very few schools that can match that,” said current Wynford basketball coach and Superintendent Steve Mohr. “Certainly no one in this area can come close.”
In his first year at the helm of the Royals, Mohr is just the fifth coach in the program’s storied history and very excited to have a part this Saturday during daylong activities to honor that tradition.
“I don’t think anybody has the perspective of the accomplishments of the program that I have,” said Mohr. “I competed against this program for over 30 years as a coach and know what it takes to compete against Wynford.”
Mohr coached against Wynford teams of the past at both Buckeye Central and Colonel Crawford, two of the school’s biggest rivals in Crawford County. Ironically, he also coached at Shelby who will furnish the opposition Saturday night in the 2013 home opener.
Mohr admitted it wasn’t until he became the district’s top administrator that he truly understood the importance of basketball to the community. There was another “ah-ha” moment prior to the season’s first jump ball.
“Everybody knows the tradition of Wynford basketball, but it didn’t really hit home until I sat down to talk with my players and their parents. It wasn’t until then that it really hit.”
The 50-year celebration and reunion has been organized in large part by former player, one-time assistant coach and current science teacher Lee Rowlinson.
“My first memories of Wynford basketball are Coach (Jim) Bauer, listening to Doyle Weaver broadcast games on the radio. That’s when my dreams began,” Rowlinson said, recalling names that still ring from the rafters like Gebhardt, Gerhart, Kalb, Scheifer, Schifer, and more. “Having the chance to play for Coach (Frank) Levering, Coach (Rob) Sheldon, and being allowed to hang around until I grew up.”
When Rowlinson “grew up” he went on to a stellar college career with high school teammate Mike Smith at Ohio Wesleyan where they claimed an NCAA Division III national championship, and he eventually a pro career in Europe.
“When Mike Smith and I went (to Ohio Wesleyan) Wynford went with us,” Rowlinson said. “Playing overseas, the Wynford basketball community was always asking what I was doing. As a coach, being on the other side of the fence, seeing that continued support and success, I feel really privileged. You don’t just see that unless you have a strong community base.”
Saturday’s special activities begin at approximately noon with an Alumni Luncheon in the school cafeteria following the freshman game that morning. Alumni games will begin at approximately 1 p.m. and conclude at 4. The junior varsity game between Shelby and Wynford will begin an hour earlier than normal at 5 p.m. Throughout the evening Wynford basketball will honor its past players and coaches including the program’s all-state and national championship players and two state tournament teams.
All former players and coaches will be honored and recognized including legendary junior high coaches Frank Levering and John Short.
Following the game there will be a social gathering at Dillinger’s Event Center for the entire Wynford community.
All four men who coached Wynford basketball, prior to Mohr, are expected to be in attendance Saturday night. They are Jim Bauer, Bernie Witzmann, Rob Sheldon and Tim Ehresman.
Mohr fully credits them for establishing the tradition he wants his current players to embrace and seek to continue.
“My emphasis as a coach is I want our kids to be aware of that tradition. I think that tradition should define us as we move forward,” Mohr said. “Those kinds of intangible things really have an impact on us as a team and individual players.”
Mohr has turned this season into a type of local history class for his players. He has each one of them take a turn at researching and sharing an important facet of the richness of Wynford’s unparalleled basketball success over 50 years that has allowed only four non-winning seasons. It may be the greatest upsets pulled off by a Wynford basketball team or a previous coach for the Royals. He calls it their homework assignments.
“I talk about it all the time,” Mohr said. “But every kid is going to have to talk about it before the season is over. If you don’t talk about it, not just to brag, but the responsibility of maintaining that tradition. I want our kids to know that tradition, to embrace that tradition and be part of that tradition.”
Mohr said that tradition affects not just Wynford boys’ basketball, but every sport for both boys and girls at the school.
“I think Wynford basketball has set the standard for every sport at Wynford,” Mohr said. “The standard that was set by Jim Bauer and then taken to another level by Rob Sheldon is one I think everyone aspires to.”
For the first time in his coaching career Mohr will be sitting on the other side of the scorer’s table Friday night in Wynford’s “House of Thrills” as Sheldon tabbed it back in the 1980s.
“I grew up hating that gym,” Mohr said with a laugh. “But it will be special Saturday night, ironically out there for the first time against a team I had previously coached.”
For Mohr, and his players, it will be both the beginning and the continuation of a tradition.