Gunn steps down as Cambridge football coach

Sunday
Jan 7, 2018 at 12:01 AM

By Jeff HarrisonThe Daily Jeffersonian

His passion for the game is still there, but Kevin Gunn has decided it’s time to step away for a bit.

After six seasons guiding his alma mater on the football field, Gunn resigned his position as head coach at Cambridge High School, but don’t look for him to stay away from the game for very long.

"I was born and raised here and played here," Gunn stated. "I’ve been a part of Cambridge football for the past 37 years, but I just felt like it was time to step aside."

Gunn posted a six-year record of 28-33, including last year’s 3-7 mark. The highlight of his stint guiding the Bobcats came in 2016 when CHS went 7-4 and earned their first OHSAA playoff berth in a decade, falling by a 44-17 score to Johnstown-Monroe in Division IV, Region 15 first-round action. He was named the East District D-IV "Coach of the Year" following that season.

He pointed to the day-to-day grind associated with being a head coach as starting to take its toll.

"You’re constantly thinking ahead, whether it’s about the off-season...the summer program...fundraising...," he offered. "It’s just a constant grind with no time to take a breath. You play on Friday night and by Saturday morning, you’re already breaking down film to get ready for the next game or you’re falling behind.

"I read an article recently about the five stages of coaching," Gunn continued. "You start out young and eager and will do anything then you transition along until you reach Stage 4 where you’re more concerned about the kids being good representatives of the school and productive in society and it’s not so much about the wins and losses. Then Stage 5 hits and you’re burned out and always mad, and I don’t want to get to that stage because I love competition and I love football and I don’t ever want to lose that.

"I was just about ready to be done last year," he noted, "but I wanted to see these kids (this year’s seniors) through. We had a lot of inexperience this past season, and I wanted to be around them to see what we could do. I enjoyed that challenge although we had a tough year record-wise."

The 50-year old Gunn, a 1985 graduate of Cambridge High and a 1989 product of Muskingum University, said he has no doubt he’ll get back into coaching at some point.

"I want to get back into it eventually an assistant somewhere," he said. "Coaching is just one of those things I can’t say I’m going to be done with forever. I’ve enjoyed my stint as a head coach and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it was time for me to move on.

"I miss being an assistant coach because you get more of an opportunity to build a relationship with the kids," Gunn related, "whereas being a head coach, you have to rely heavily on your assistants because you have so many other responsibilities."

Gunn, who credited Tom Chappelear for giving him his first coaching opportunity at CHS and Dan Evans for lighting the fire within him to possibly become a head coach one day.

He said it’s the "little things" that he’ll miss the most.

"I have been able to look up in the stands on a Friday night and see my dad sitting in the same seat he’s been in since I was a freshman in high school," he said. "I enjoyed during warm-ups to look up and wave to him knowing he was very proud of me, and it’s things like that I really cherish.

"We’ve been blessed with some great kids who’ve represented our program and our school well," Gunn added, "and I’ve made some great friends in the coaching ranks over the years, too."

He’s already found himself feeling more relaxed since making the decision to step down.

"I’ll just wait and see what happens," Gunn continued, "but I do know the last two weeks over Christmas break have been the most relaxing I’ve had in years because I didn’t have to have that constant thinking ahead or planning to deal with everything."

Gunn plans to remain an assistant track coach for the Bobcats, working primarily with the shot/put discus athletes.

 

 

Sunday
Jan 7, 2018 at 12:01 AM

By Jeff HarrisonThe Daily Jeffersonian

His passion for the game is still there, but Kevin Gunn has decided it’s time to step away for a bit.

After six seasons guiding his alma mater on the football field, Gunn resigned his position as head coach at Cambridge High School, but don’t look for him to stay away from the game for very long.

"I was born and raised here and played here," Gunn stated. "I’ve been a part of Cambridge football for the past 37 years, but I just felt like it was time to step aside."

Gunn posted a six-year record of 28-33, including last year’s 3-7 mark. The highlight of his stint guiding the Bobcats came in 2016 when CHS went 7-4 and earned their first OHSAA playoff berth in a decade, falling by a 44-17 score to Johnstown-Monroe in Division IV, Region 15 first-round action. He was named the East District D-IV "Coach of the Year" following that season.

He pointed to the day-to-day grind associated with being a head coach as starting to take its toll.

"You’re constantly thinking ahead, whether it’s about the off-season...the summer program...fundraising...," he offered. "It’s just a constant grind with no time to take a breath. You play on Friday night and by Saturday morning, you’re already breaking down film to get ready for the next game or you’re falling behind.

"I read an article recently about the five stages of coaching," Gunn continued. "You start out young and eager and will do anything then you transition along until you reach Stage 4 where you’re more concerned about the kids being good representatives of the school and productive in society and it’s not so much about the wins and losses. Then Stage 5 hits and you’re burned out and always mad, and I don’t want to get to that stage because I love competition and I love football and I don’t ever want to lose that.

"I was just about ready to be done last year," he noted, "but I wanted to see these kids (this year’s seniors) through. We had a lot of inexperience this past season, and I wanted to be around them to see what we could do. I enjoyed that challenge although we had a tough year record-wise."

The 50-year old Gunn, a 1985 graduate of Cambridge High and a 1989 product of Muskingum University, said he has no doubt he’ll get back into coaching at some point.

"I want to get back into it eventually an assistant somewhere," he said. "Coaching is just one of those things I can’t say I’m going to be done with forever. I’ve enjoyed my stint as a head coach and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, but it was time for me to move on.

"I miss being an assistant coach because you get more of an opportunity to build a relationship with the kids," Gunn related, "whereas being a head coach, you have to rely heavily on your assistants because you have so many other responsibilities."

Gunn, who credited Tom Chappelear for giving him his first coaching opportunity at CHS and Dan Evans for lighting the fire within him to possibly become a head coach one day.

He said it’s the "little things" that he’ll miss the most.

"I have been able to look up in the stands on a Friday night and see my dad sitting in the same seat he’s been in since I was a freshman in high school," he said. "I enjoyed during warm-ups to look up and wave to him knowing he was very proud of me, and it’s things like that I really cherish.

"We’ve been blessed with some great kids who’ve represented our program and our school well," Gunn added, "and I’ve made some great friends in the coaching ranks over the years, too."

He’s already found himself feeling more relaxed since making the decision to step down.

"I’ll just wait and see what happens," Gunn continued, "but I do know the last two weeks over Christmas break have been the most relaxing I’ve had in years because I didn’t have to have that constant thinking ahead or planning to deal with everything."

Gunn plans to remain an assistant track coach for the Bobcats, working primarily with the shot/put discus athletes.