Headed to Kansas

Jack Wood has spent his life in Jay County. Soon he'll be headed to Jayhawk territory.

Wood recently resigned his post as the Jay County High School softball coach. He officially accepted a promotion this week within The Kroger Company - he has worked at its subsidiary, Peyton's Northern Distribution Center in Bluffton - and will move with his family to Kansas.

The five-year head coach said telling his team about the decision was one of the hardest things he's ever had to do.

"They grow on you," he said in an interview Tuesday. "They become a part of your family. It's tough."

Wood, his wife Teresa, who also works for Kroger, and his son Jordan, 13, will be headed to Maize, Kan. The city of about 2,000 is located 15 miles northwest of Wichita and about 60 miles north of the Oklahoma border.

Moving up to Class 4A last season, Wood's team made it to the sectional championship game for the first time since 2001. The Patriots went nine innings against Homestead (26-2-2) before losing 2-1 on a questionable call in the bottom of the ninth inning.

Even with the loss it was the best season in JCHS history as the squad finished 17-10.

"I have mixed feelings, because it's a great opportunity for him professionally. You have to feel good about that for him. But I hate to see him go," said JCHS principal Phil Ford, who was the athletics director for most of Wood's coaching tenure. "He did a great job. He took the program and advanced it, made it more competitive, raised the level of play, raised the level of commitment from the girls."

Doug Arbuckle, who has been Wood's assistant coach throughout his five years, will take over the program. Both of them are 1982 graduates of JCHS.

"I've known Jack all my life, 40 years, and it was an honor. I really enjoyed working with him these last five years," said Arbuckle. "I feel like in the five years we were here together the program has made giant steps in the right direction. And I just hope that it can continue this way.

"I'm really going to miss him. It was a lot of fun."

The Patriots add Eric Myers, who has experience as an AAU coach, as Arbuckle's assistant. JCHS physical education and health teacher Christie Sommers will be the junior varsity coach.

"We thought that (Doug) was the person to step in," said JCHS athletics director Ted Habegger. "Doug Arbuckle is a great competitor. ... I believe we'll just continue on ... He has a great desire to win."

Wood's career coaching record was a couple of games below .500 - 65-67 - but his teams showed consistent improvement.

When he took over the program in 2004 it was coming off of a couple of difficult years - 5-23 in 2002 and 6-22 in 2003. The team saw a jump immediately, winning nine games in both 2004 and '05 and jumping to 13-13 in 2006.

The Patriots set the school record for wins with a 16-10 record in 2007, and then snapped it again last season.

Wood thanked the JCHS athletic staff, his coaches and the community for their overall support in helping build the program. And mostly, he gave the credit to his players.

"I don't think it was great coaching," he said. "I think it was great kids.

"I don't think anybody could ask for any more or any better support than what we go. I wouldn't trade those memories for anything."

Wood, who also spent several seasons as an assistant coach in the baseball and girls basketball programs under Lea Selvey, mentioned three games that stand out as favorites during his career, including the 2008 sectional championship. The Patriots entered that game as heavy underdogs, but pushed host Homestead to the brink.

"We could have never asked any kids to do any more than they did that game," said Wood. "And I know Homestead felt the same, of course. It was a shame anybody had to lose that ballgame."

He also noted last season's win over Olympic Athletic Conference rival Anderson Highland as a highlight.

And he looked all the way back to his first game as the Patriots' coach. In that contest the Patriots trailed Mississinewa 4-0 before rallying for a 7-6 win in the eighth inning when Amber Champ scored on a squeeze bunt by Saffron Redwine.

Wood said he hopes the program can continue to create those kinds of memories. And he believes the 2009 squad has a chance to break through and bring JCHS its first sectional title.

"I think the team this year has the potential to continue building on where we were at last year," said Wood. "We lost in the final game of the sectional in nine innings. And I think this team could be there again."

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