Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Gaither steps down at Catholic
The veteran coach says the school is de-emphasizing basketball.
varsity.roanoke.com
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Joe Gaither, who became a head coach in high school for the first time in his mid-50s, resigned Tuesday after a successful six-year run at Roanoke Catholic.
The Celtics captured a pair of boys state basketball championships under Gaither, who compiled a 127-48 record.
"The school wants to go in another direction," said Gaither, a respected AAU coach in the Roanoke Valley before taking the Catholic job. "They want to de-emphasize the basketball program."
Catholic athletic director Paul Ripley declined to call it a de-emphasis. To him, it's a matter of philosophy.
Some of Gaither's success came with international players or with players who began their careers at another high school.
"We're sliding a little bit away from the two-year student," Ripley said. "We want them to be a good, long-term member of the school community. It's tough to get a hold of the tradition in only two years."
Gaither isn't sure Catholic can stay at its current level with a mostly home-grown product.
"We played in the Arby's [Classic]; we played in some of the best tournaments," Gaither said. "That's not something that I feel they're receptive to."
As to whether Gaither could have returned, Ripley said, "It never got to that point."
Gaither said he told Ripley at the middle of the year that he was unlikely to return.
"I knew the direction they wanted to go and it wasn't conducive to the kind of athletes we brought in," Gaither said. "Over a 10-year period, they won five state championships. Dick [Wall] won three and we won two.
"That's where the bar was set. That's not where it's set anymore."
Roanoke Catholic competes in Division II of the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association. Another private school in the Roanoke Valley, North Cross, competes in Division III.
Ripley said Catholic is in the first year of a two-year commitment to Division II, so the level of competition will not change next year.
"When you're trying to showcase guys and give them opportunities for exposure, you want to get them in the most competitive situations you can," Gaither said. "That makes all the difference."
Ripley, who said several would-be candidates expressed interest in succeeding Gaither, hesitated when asked if Roanoke Catholic boys basketball has a mission.
"First, it's the mission of the school," he said. "I think the mission of the school is paramount and then, 'Oh, by the way, I play a sport.' "
Gaither said he has coached close to 70 players who have gone on to play in college, counting his 11 seasons as an assistant at William Fleming.
"I've got three more to get placed," he said. "That's the ultimate, man."
For more than two decades, Gaither, 60, coached while working for the U.S. Postal Service, where he recently received a 25-year pin. He also served for many years as athletic director of the Inner City Athletic Association and been very active in his church.
He said he has other coaching options and that was one of the reasons he stepped down.
"I've still got the passion," he said. "You've got to love the game. I've been contacted by a couple of people and I've been praying on it.
"I was really planning on five years when I got here. We'll see what God says. He sent me to [Catholic] and now maybe it's time to make a difference somewhere else."
