Oshel: Timing right to resign
By GREG MAST, Herald Sports Editor
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WELLSVILLE — Timing is big in sports. Games have a time clock.
Coaches and athletes are supposed to manage the clock well in those games.
But there is also other timing, such as when a team may have several good athletes or not that many athletes.
For 29 years, Wellsville High School football coach Bill Oshel has had a lot of good fortune. The Wellsville alum decided that this was the time to step away from his post after spending the past 16 years as the head football coach.
He tendered his resignation Monday. It will need board approval.
“It was time,” he said. “I have been thinking about it. I gave myself the weekend. It was a tough decision.”
The timing he mentioned was Wellsville will join the Pioneer League next season. The Eagles return a bevy of young talent with young players getting set to join the program.
The Eagles are coming off qualifying for the playoffs.
“We’ve done a good job of getting the program turned around again,” Oshel, who has guided the Eagles to several playoff seasons, said. “I am not burned out.
“It is time to turn it over to someone else.”
The procedure of hiring a new coach falls upon the administration. Wellsville Athletics Director Kris Kehl said the position would be put on several state job lists and also any of the present staff may apply.
“We want to find the best football coach,” Kehl said.
He said time is not an issue at this early date, but expects to interview the top candidates in the next six weeks.
Kehl said the head football position has had two coaches in the past 21 seasons, so the hiring process is a new experience for everybody.
Oshel said he will continue to teach in Wellsville and could be an assistant coach in the future.
“This will give [the new coach] a fresh start,” he said. “Wellsville is a great place to be.”
He said his greatest accomplishment is not dealing with the wins and losses, but seeing the players return as young men.
“It is the memories of the kids,” he said. “That is the biggest thing. I get to hear the different stories.”
Greg Mast can be reached at sports@ottawaherald.com.
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