Area coaches switch sides in offseason moves

The basketball coaching carousel isn't just for the college level.

While the resignation of Matt Doherty at North Carolina set off a series of moves that ultimately saw Southern Illinois coach Bruce Weber leave for Illinois, the area high school ranks has had its own revolving door.

Several boys coaching changes have taken place since the close of the season less than two months ago.

Chaffee is in the market for a basketball coach after David Mirly left to take the position at Woodland, which was vacated by Ted Hahn, who stepped down after just one year at the school. Hahn led the Cardinals to their second straight 10-14 campaign in his only season.

Mirly, a former assistant at New Madrid County Central, coached at Chaffee for two seasons. The Red Devils had six wins in both years, going 6-18 in Mirly's first year and 6-17 in the just-completed season.

Chaffee, which hasn't had a winning season since 1980, has had its own revolving door. Next season the Red Devils will be playing under their fifth coach in six years.

In another change, Notre Dame assistant coach Shawn Kinder will return to his alma mater, Delta, where he will replace Robert Stein, who led the Bobcats for two seasons.

Kinder coached Notre Dame's freshman team this year and served as a varsity assistant to coach Darrin Scott. A former four-year starter at point guard, Kinder will try to return the Bobcats to the glory of his all-state playing days. Delta has not had a winning season since Kinder's senior season in 1997-98 when it went 22-8 and reached the Class 1 quarterfinals.

The Bobcats have had five straight losing seasons since, going 8-18 and 6-17 under Stein.

Oak Ridge also is in the market for a new basketball coach after Paul Lynch resigned after his fourth season. The Blue Jays showed improvement under Lynch but have not had a winning season since 1995. Lynch, who also served as Oak Ridge's principal, is going to East Prairie for a similar job.

Other area basketball coaching changes include Scott Kruse moving from Twin Rivers to New Madrid County Central and former junior-varsity coach Joel Roth replacing Paul Taylor at Perryville.

Brosey signs to play soccer at East Central College

Notre Dame senior Jeff Brosey has signed a letter of intent to play soccer at East Central College in Union, Mo.

A defender, Brosey played a hero's role in Notre Dame's drive to the Class 2 state championship in the fall when he scored the winning goals in both the semifinal and title games. The latter goal came in the fourth overtime in a 1-0 win over St. Francis Borgia.

Brosey, a three-year letterman, was selected first team all-conference, first-team all-district and second-team all-state his senior season.

He's the third member of Notre Dame's 20-5 squad to sign a college scholarship.

Cook signs with Three Rivers Community College

Delta senior Rebecca Cook has signed a letter of intent to play basketball and softball at Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

A four-year letter winner in each sport, Cook helped Delta to the Class 1 final four in both basketball and softball.

Playing point guard, Cook averaged 12.4 points, 7.5 assists and 3.2 steals in her senior season when Delta finished 27-3 and third at the state basketball championships. She finished with 1,357 career points and 537 assists.

A pitcher and infielder for Delta's softball team, Cook has been a part of three district championship teams and helped the Bobcats to a fourth-place state finish in her sophomore year.

St. Vincent program chosen as one of Missouri's best

St. Vincent High School was honored for one of the top football programs in the state Saturday by the St. Louis Tom Lombardo Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

The criteria for selection was based on scholastics, football ability, leadership, citizenship and student involvement in the program.

The award was presented at a banquet at Washington University.

St. Vincent has been a perennial power in Class 1 over the past decade and appeared in two state championship games.

Two Notre Dame athletes chosen academic all-state

Notre Dame seniors Cory Beussink and Ashley Millham have been selected for the Academic All-State Team by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.

Both players were honored at a banquet in Columbia, Mo., for their achievements scholastically and athletically.

To receive the award, individuals must be seniors of high moral character, have an ACT score of at least 27, start 90 percent of their team's games, have a grade point of at least 3.25 and rank in the top 20 percent of their class.

Millham, a finalist for Miss Show-Me Basketball, also received the Spalding-MBCA Scholarship Award.

SEMOConference finals on tap in three sports

Three SEMO Conference championships will be decided in the next week.

The conference track and field meet will be Friday at the Abe Stuber Track and Field Complex on the Southeast Missouri State University campus; the conference golf tournament will be Tuesday at Dalhousie Golf Club; and the conference girls swimming meet will be Monday and Tuesday at Central Municipal Pool.

Another major event this week will be the I-55 Girls Soccer Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

The eight-team event, to be held at Notre Dame, has a round-robin format pairing four south teams against four north teams. The south teams will consist of Notre Dame, Central, Jackson and Poplar Bluff. The north teams will be Northwest, Parkway West, Wentzville and Bishop DuBourg.