Patchwork

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Brian Patch stands alone at the top.

And no, that’s not in reference to his 6-foot, 8-inch frame.

On Saturday, Patch became the all-time leader in career coaching victories at Fort Recovery High School as his girls basketball team defeated the Van Wert Cougars, 49-32.

He passed Diane McClung, who coached from 1979 to 1992 and guided the Indian girls to consecutive state championships in 1990 and ‘91.

“Just being mentioned with her and coach Al Souder (179 wins from 1979 to 1989) as far as wins go, I think it means a lot,” said Patch, who was 159-76 in 11 years leading the FRHS boys and is 63-24 with the girls program.

“Moving here 14 years ago one of the first things I did was try to study up on the history of Fort Recovery because we’ve had a pretty proud and pretty rich tradition of basketball,” added Patch, a 1995 Jay County High School graduate. “Being from across the state line, I knew a lot about Fort Recovery but just really tried to go in-depth and study the history of it.”

Learning about his new program was three-fold; he wanted to carry on the success, make the community proud and not let down those who were involved in giving him his first varsity coaching gig at 24 years old.

Patch’s coaching career began during his senior year at Jay County. Midway through the season doctors thought he had marfan syndrome, a genetic disorder commonly found in tall and thin individuals that can affect the cardiovascular system. It put an end to his playing career, and JCHS coach Jim Black let him help out.

He got his coaching start at the junior high level while attending Ball State University. He began at Wes-Del in Gaston and then moved to East Jay for four years. When he graduated from college, he followed Black to Lake Central High School in St. John where he was an assistant for three years.

In 2003, Patch got his start at Fort Recovery.

“To be honest, it kind of sounds cliché, but I always wanted to come here,” he said. Patch took over the boys program from Joe Bruns, who led the Tribe to the state championship game in 1999. “Fort Recovery is always a place we knew well.”

It was a rough first year for Patch and the Indians, as they went 6-15. Fort Recovery was 14-9 with a sectional title the following year, and went 8-14 during the 2005-06 season.

The Indians haven’t had a losing season since. Patch guided them to three straight sectional titles from 2008-10, including Midwest Athletic Conference, sectional and district titles in 2010. Fort Recovery won MAC and sectional titles two years later, too.

Before the 2014-15 season, Patch switched to the girls program and has won at least 17 games each of his first three years. Fort Recovery is 8-1 so far this season.

“A lot of good players,” Patch said of how he was able to get to 222 wins, also noting the support staff he’s had through the years. “Thinking about all the players we’ve coached over the years we’ve had a lot of good players go through here.

“Had a lot of kids that were willing to buy in and believe in us and our system that we try to implement and the way we play.”

Elijah Kahlig is one of those players. Kahlig, along with his brother Greg, a 2010 graduate, and 2012 graduate Wade Gelhaus, reached 1,000 career points with Patch as their coach.

Greg (1,769 points), who was inducted into the FRHS athletics hall of fame Saturday, and Elijah (1,392) are first and third respectively on the school’s career scoring list. Gelhaus (1,302) ranks fifth.

“It was awesome,” Elijah Kahlig, now a senior on the University of Findlay men’s basketball team, said of playing for Patch. “The one thing about coach Patch, he always brought great energy to practice every day … Always excited and energetic. It rubbed off on you as a player, made you want to practice harder every day. He was another coach you wanted to go to battle for.”

Carley Stone, a current FRHS senior, and Kahlig both said the best aspect of Patch’s coaching is how he always expects the best out of his players.

“He knows what all his players are capable of and wants each of us to reach our full potential,” Stone said. “He’s helped me over the years become more mentally tough and a better leader on the floor for my team.”

Coaches are often judged by their number of wins and losses, but each victory and defeat are not totally a result of them. It’s the five players on the court who have the most impact on the result. The coach simply gives them guidance.

And it’s a coach’s time away from the court a casual fan generally overlooks.

“He’s put in so much time and effort into scouting, watching film and coaching that it’s no surprise he’s reached this goal,” Stone said. “It’s so cool to think about the wins before he came to (the) girls program and how we helped him get to this point.”

Kahlig, who was part of Patch’s last boys team, said his former coach is deserving of every honor he receives.

“All the players he’s had, he’s always been able to find success,” Kahlig said. “Especially transitioning with the girls program and being able to maintain success that’s just a testament to the kind of coach he is and he gets the best out of his players no matter who he has at the time.

“To be able to be a part of that is an honor for me and it was an honor to play for him.”