NORTH LEWISBURG, OH — In what has been dubbed “the most controversial athletic hire in small-town Ohio history,” the Triad Local Schools board voted unanimously Monday to hire local townie William “Bill” Hickley as Cardinals baseball coach on the Brush Lake Road campus.
Though many community members had argued that Hickley was unqualified for such a high-profile position due to his lack of coaching experience, others said his deep roots in the area made him the ideal choice to lead the struggling baseball team.
“It is important that we have someone who is committed to making this program work, not just some journeyman coach who’s passing through on their way to somewhere else,” Triad High School principal Donald Gehry said. “Someone like Hickley, who has lived here all his life and is deeply invested in the future of this school and this community.”
Reacting to the hiring, a group of concerned parents has already filed a petition with the school board asking them to reconsider their decision.
“We respectfully request that you remove Mr. Hickley from consideration for the position of baseball coach,” read a portion of the petition, which will be submitted to the school board next week. “While we appreciate your commitment to finding a suitable replacement for Coach Jim Shuey, we feel strongly that Mr. Hickley is not the right person for the job. Please think again before making a hasty decision you may regret.”
Triad High School alumnus Thomas Lundy, 37, one of the organizers of the petition drive, said he feels strongly that a better choice exists.
“I went to this school, so I’m familiar with the needs of the students and the limitations of the staff,” Lundy said. “And after graduating, I moved away but eventually came back because I could see that there were better opportunities waiting for me elsewhere. That’s why I want these kids to realize that they have options out there in the big world. And getting on that first bus to nowhere with Coach Bill Hickley is not one of them.”
Said another parent, who wished to remain anonymous: “This is ridiculous. My kid’s not going to any summer camp with Hickley. No way.”
According to sources within Triad High School, Hickley has long been considered something of an outcast by the rest of the community, due mostly to his lack of formal education and his occupation as a gas-station attendant.
“Mr. Hickley is a nice guy, and certainly anyone would be happy to have him at one of their social functions, but… well, let’s just say that ‘baseball coach’ doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue when you’re trying to introduce him at a Rotary Club dinner,” one source said. “To be honest, though, it’s probably just as well that he wasn’t hired, considering how busy he is running that bait shop over on Brush Lake Road.”
Added a second source: “If you ask me, this whole controversy smacks of elitism. After all, what does Hickley’s plumbing-supply-store owner daddy have to do with anything? Just because he can’t fit a washer onto a thread or understand why a sink gets clogged up with grease doesn’t mean he should keep a young student-athlete from realizing his dream of playing college ball. Now, some of us may not know what kind of nut is on the end of a screwdriver, but we know what a knucklehead looks like when we see one, believe you me!”
As of press time, reports indicated that more than half of the student body had signed a petition supporting the hiring of Hickley. In addition, the baseball-coach candidate received an unexpected endorsement Tuesday afternoon, when the entire girls’ basketball team showed up to cheer him on during a pick-up game of street hockey against some Triad boys in a parking lot off Maple Street near the village offices.
“The kids love him,” Triad High School senior and co-captain of the basketball team Jason Pollack said. “Everybody loves Hickley. He’s the best. He even buys us beer!”