May 1, 2020 at 5:04 p.m.
Coach’s departure stunned community
Memorable Moments
Coach’s departure stunned community
Editor’s note: Whether key plays, incredible achievements or milestone events, sports are full of instances that stick out more than others. Sports editor Chris Schanz has seen a ton of them. In this “Memorable Moments” series, he’ll revisit some important moments in area athletics.
••••••••••
He said for many years he wanted to retire from Jay County.
Like the weather, plans can change.
A change of plans started to take place nearing the end of May 2015.
Rumors began swirling, then it became official on June 2, 2015, when Craig Teagle announced he was going to leave his post as Jay County High School boys basketball coach for the same position at a sectional rival.
“The reality is that (Huntington North) is a good basketball job that I want to make a great basketball job,” Teagle said that morning. “There is a challenge there that I have not approached in several years.”
What makes the move memorable is the fact it came as a shock to the school and community.
Teagle coached the Patriots for 17 years. He guided them to back-to-back sectional championships in 2003 and 2004. Two years later he won his third sectional crown, then took the Patriots to uncharted territory; regional and semi-state championships, the only of each to date in program history.
In 2011, he won his fifth sectional at Jay County. He had a winning record for 14 consecutive years on his way to a 250-137 mark; the most wins (and most losses) in of any coach in team history as he led the Patriots longer than anyone else had.
“It’s funny because I felt like every season there was something that happened, when a team clicked or they became one and they all started pulling together, you knew you were going to start having success because of the buy in (to the program),” Teagle said. “Just that ‘ah ha’ moment.
“Every season was special. Every team was special. They all meant a lot.”
When Teagle began at Jay County in 1999, his son Trey was just a toddler. Trey grew up around the program, then played in it, while his dad was at the helm. By the time the elder Teagle left, his son was a sophomore in college.
Craig Teagle, who went on to win a sectional championship at Huntington North in 2019 — it was his 400th career victory — was approached by the HNHS brass in late May 2015. He initially told them he wasn’t interested in taking the position, noting he wanted to retire in Portland.
But after some enticing, he went north from his Blackford County home to meet with Viking officials.
What happened next, Teagle had said, was reminiscent of the movie “The Godfather.”
“They talk about giving you an offer you can’t refuse,” he said. “They gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
When I began in 2013, I knew about the Hoosier Hysteria for basketball. That first year I looked forward to getting to meet all of the coaches and players with whom I’d get the chance to work.
But for some reason — maybe the fact I knew little about the sport at the time — I was dreading my initial meeting with Teagle.
It doesn’t happen often, but I was intimidated; here he was, respected statewide and a state final caliber leader who had coached the cream of the crop — the 2012 Indiana All-Star team included four future professional players — and I was a 20-something reporter months away from taking my first venture into the realm of Indiana high school basketball.
Following our initial meeting, I still treaded lightly when speaking with Teagle or writing about his teams. The last thing I wanted to do was get something incorrect or make it seem like I had any inclination I knew what I was talking about when in fact I most likely didn’t.
Thankfully, Teagle took it easy on me. And a closed-door conversation I had with him and his staff in his office that first winter eased tension for the rest of that season and our final one a year later.
And just as I was getting comfortable photographing and writing about basketball and anticipating a long friendship with Teagle, he headed northwest.
“I really feel like Jay County is still a very good basketball job that is going to continue to have success,” he said. “If I was ever going to leave, that is what I wanted to do is leave when it was still strong.”
His departure stunned the community, which is what make his departure memorable.
••••••••••
He said for many years he wanted to retire from Jay County.
Like the weather, plans can change.
A change of plans started to take place nearing the end of May 2015.
Rumors began swirling, then it became official on June 2, 2015, when Craig Teagle announced he was going to leave his post as Jay County High School boys basketball coach for the same position at a sectional rival.
“The reality is that (Huntington North) is a good basketball job that I want to make a great basketball job,” Teagle said that morning. “There is a challenge there that I have not approached in several years.”
What makes the move memorable is the fact it came as a shock to the school and community.
Teagle coached the Patriots for 17 years. He guided them to back-to-back sectional championships in 2003 and 2004. Two years later he won his third sectional crown, then took the Patriots to uncharted territory; regional and semi-state championships, the only of each to date in program history.
In 2011, he won his fifth sectional at Jay County. He had a winning record for 14 consecutive years on his way to a 250-137 mark; the most wins (and most losses) in of any coach in team history as he led the Patriots longer than anyone else had.
“It’s funny because I felt like every season there was something that happened, when a team clicked or they became one and they all started pulling together, you knew you were going to start having success because of the buy in (to the program),” Teagle said. “Just that ‘ah ha’ moment.
“Every season was special. Every team was special. They all meant a lot.”
When Teagle began at Jay County in 1999, his son Trey was just a toddler. Trey grew up around the program, then played in it, while his dad was at the helm. By the time the elder Teagle left, his son was a sophomore in college.
Craig Teagle, who went on to win a sectional championship at Huntington North in 2019 — it was his 400th career victory — was approached by the HNHS brass in late May 2015. He initially told them he wasn’t interested in taking the position, noting he wanted to retire in Portland.
But after some enticing, he went north from his Blackford County home to meet with Viking officials.
What happened next, Teagle had said, was reminiscent of the movie “The Godfather.”
“They talk about giving you an offer you can’t refuse,” he said. “They gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
When I began in 2013, I knew about the Hoosier Hysteria for basketball. That first year I looked forward to getting to meet all of the coaches and players with whom I’d get the chance to work.
But for some reason — maybe the fact I knew little about the sport at the time — I was dreading my initial meeting with Teagle.
It doesn’t happen often, but I was intimidated; here he was, respected statewide and a state final caliber leader who had coached the cream of the crop — the 2012 Indiana All-Star team included four future professional players — and I was a 20-something reporter months away from taking my first venture into the realm of Indiana high school basketball.
Following our initial meeting, I still treaded lightly when speaking with Teagle or writing about his teams. The last thing I wanted to do was get something incorrect or make it seem like I had any inclination I knew what I was talking about when in fact I most likely didn’t.
Thankfully, Teagle took it easy on me. And a closed-door conversation I had with him and his staff in his office that first winter eased tension for the rest of that season and our final one a year later.
And just as I was getting comfortable photographing and writing about basketball and anticipating a long friendship with Teagle, he headed northwest.
“I really feel like Jay County is still a very good basketball job that is going to continue to have success,” he said. “If I was ever going to leave, that is what I wanted to do is leave when it was still strong.”
His departure stunned the community, which is what make his departure memorable.
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