Joe B. Stewart has been named the new varsity men's basketball head coach for the Fayetteville Rockets, making him the “Rocket Man.'' On Thursday night, the Fayetteville Perry School Board approved Superintendent Tim Currier's recommendation.
Stewart has ties to Highland County as he previously served as the head coach at Hillsboro and McLain, winning multiple conference championships at Hillsboro and most recently at McLain, where his team won the Frontier Athletic Conference for the 2021-22 season. Won championship and district championships. Championship. During his time at McLean, Stewart won the OPSWA SE District Coach of the Year award twice in four seasons.
Stewart, a 1982 Wilmington University graduate, was the head coach at Piketon from 1982 to 1986, then at Miami Trace ('86-87), Hillsboro ('87-90) and Chillicothe ('90-99). served as a coach. ), Southern State Community College (2000-03), Hillsboro (2003-07), Edgewood (13-15), Madison Plains (15-18), and McLean (18-22).
The Rockets most recently finished 13-11 overall and 7-6 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference (tied for second in SHAC Division II). Stewart replaces former head coach DJ McCommons, who resigned this offseason.
Below is the full release and statement provided by Coach Stewart regarding Stewart being named Fayetteville's new head coach.
On Thursday night (April 18), the Fayetteville Perry Board of Education approved Superintendent Tim Currier's recommendation to hire Joe B. Stewart as the Rockets' next varsity boys basketball head coach.
Stewart is a veteran coach who began his career at Piketon High School in 1982, and was inducted into the District 14 Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2014 and the Highland County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2018.
Most recently, Stewart served a four-year term (2018-2022) at his alma mater, McLean, where his first Tiger team finished 15-8, ending 11 straight losing seasons, and his last season was a tie. He won the school's first Frontier Athletics championship. Conference championship and first district championship in 15 years. In two of his four years, Stewart was recognized as a Southeast Division sectional. II Coach of the Year Award by the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association.
Highlights of Coach Stewart's 31 seasons as a head coach include leading four schools from the bottom of the league to conference or tournament titles. 376 wins. and 11 championship seasons. He was selected by the Associated Press' Ohio bureau. He led Hillsboro to its only undefeated regular season in 1989 and was named Coach of the Year five times (Piketon 1986, Hillsboro 1989, Chillicothe 1993, McClain 2018, 2022). . Nineteen of his former assistants and players became his head basketball coaches.
“It is an honor to have the support of Superintendent Carlier, whom I have held in very high esteem over the years,” Stewart said. “His vision for athletics’ role in developing leaders and workers and building community unity aligns with my own experience.
“We're going to build a program here where our players will learn the core values that will help them succeed on and off the court. It's not so much what they accomplish, but what they become. I We want to inspire people to “Deserve a Victory Every Day” by sharing lifelong memories when things are going well and demonstrating character to represent our school and community in a classroom manner when things are not going well. Masu.
“The time I spent with Ms. Carlier, Principal Wallace, and Athletic Director Tyler Kingus convinced me that we all share the goal of athletics as a curriculum that leads to success and meaning,” said Stewart. continued. “I’m really looking forward to working with the players and starting to build relationships in this community.”
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