Krieg steps away from South Adams

For many basketball leagues the coaching carousel has gotten underway.

After three seasons, the Starfires will be looking for another coach as well.

Garrett Krieg, a 2011 Jay County High School graduate, is stepping down as the South Adams boys basketball coach effective immediately.

After just three seasons with Krieg at the helm of the Starfires program, members of the community went to the school board to voice their opinion that the basketball program could use a change in leadership.

After some time to reflect, Krieg is deciding to step away from the program.

“I was kind of taken by surprise a little bit,” Krieg said. “After talking to my athletic director and principal about things that might need to change and what we might need to do, I thought it was best to kind of just resign on my own terms.”

Krieg noted how the reaction from the community also caught athletic administrators off guard and that rather than termination, they were looking to implement an improvement plan for Krieg.

While he recognized that is normal for these situations, Krieg didn’t want an improvement plan to act as a distraction to the team, leading to his decision.

“I didn’t want that looming over the season,” Krieg said. “I don’t think that’s fair to the kids or anyone that’s a part of the program if we’re trying to check off what’s on the improvement plan opposed to teaching some values and the game of basketball to the kids.”

Krieg finishes his time at South Adams with a 12-55 and an 0-3 record in the postseason.

He previously spent one season as the girls baseball coach at Southwestern High School in Shelbyville in the 2020-21 season. He led the Spartans to an 18-8 record in just one season and to their first sectional championship in eight years.

Krieg currently doesn’t have any plans for next season. He did note he is considering stepping away from coaching to focus on his family and being a teacher as well, but hasn’t made any hard decisions yet.

“I’m just kinda taking it day by day to see what opens up and what could be around,” Krieg said. “As the spring gets going I’ll figure things out.”

While Krieg's time at South Adams may have ended sooner than he was originally hoping, he wished the Starfires well going forward.

“I’ve enjoyed coaching here and think they have a good administration behind them,” he said. “The kids are hard nosed and work very hard. I spent the time putting in the feeder system in place, so the next guy that comes in has something rolling. Hopefully they can build from that.”

When Krieg was at Jay County, he played for the basketball team that went 17-7 and won a sectional title under former coach Craig Teagle.