Whitko Hires New Hoops Coach
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
Fred Fields wanted to be picky.
When he left his ultra-successful stint as Huntington North girls basketball coach last year, he had numerous offers to continue his coaching career.
He listened, but applied for few open positions.
Then Whitko came calling. Not the girls basketball position, but the boys, and Fields is listening no longer.
After a 5-0 vote from the Whitko school board on Monday, Fields is the new head boys basketball coach for Whitko High School.
"I was going to be very selective," Fields said. "There were several jobs that were open. I had talked with several people, but I did not apply at very many places. It had to be the right place. After talking with several people at Whitko, I decided to apply. It is a special situation with the people and the community.
"It is nice to not have that concern and not answering phone calls and having people wanting you to come and apply," he said.
The school board also voted to hire John Mohr as the new athletic director at the high school, replacing Greg Roach.
Mohr has been the middle school assistant principal and AD for two years and has been teaching in the system for 20 years.
Fields brings a wealth of experience and success to the Whitko program, although mainly with the Viking girls program.
His career record is 206-49 in 10 years of coaching the Huntington North girls, including state championships in 1990 and 1995. In 1996, the Vikings were in midst of a run of 53 wins in 55 games over a two-year period and were ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation before getting upset in the semistate by Kokomo.
Fields is not without experience coaching boys, having served as the Huntington boys freshman coach from 1973 to 1982 and the boys varsity assistant from 1982 to 1987.
"I did boys for more years than I did girls as far as running the Huntington program," Fields said. "The adjustment to the girls was very minor, and I would anticipate the adjustment back will also be very minor. I have always felt basketball is basketball. Getting kids to play hard and getting them to play in the offseason is a No. 1 priority."
At first glance, Whitko wouldn't look like the type of job to attract Fields. The Wildcats' program has been engaged in a sea of controversy since Bill Patrick resigned two seasons ago after 30 years on the job and 479 career wins.
In fact, last season Whitko suffered its first losing season in school history among other notable distinctions. Dave Henson, who replaced Patrick, didn't get his contract renewed after a 27-17 two-year stint as coach and ended up in Elwood.
Fields chose to look beyond the last two years and concentrate on the history of the Whitko program.
"There are things in the past that I have absolutely no control over or have nothing to with those events," Fields said. "What I am going to be able to add is the ability to be a fixture there. I am not someone who will be jumping from job to job. I was at Huntington an awful long time. It is not like this is a temporary stop."
"The people in charge there have a good program," he said of Whitko. "That was probably the No. 1 thing. Also, they have a pretty good history there. Things have not been as good in the recent past as it had been earlier. Potentially, it could be there again. They have had an awful lot of basketball success."
Ironically, Patrick was one of the finalists to replace Henson.
"We liked what he could give as far as a total program goes," Mohr said of Fields. "We knew he could build from the early grades. He has demonstrated that at Huntington."
With little time until the start of the school year, Fields is getting right to work with summer workouts and a basketball camp later this month.
"We do have to make up for lost time," Fields said. "We are going to try to get the open gym back and get the kids playing. And we would like to instill some of the old-time pride that they were once famous for.
"What we are going to do as a coaching staff is try to be very, very accurate in our assessment of what abilities we do and don't have so the offense and defense can fit what we have." [[In-content Ad]]
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Fred Fields wanted to be picky.
When he left his ultra-successful stint as Huntington North girls basketball coach last year, he had numerous offers to continue his coaching career.
He listened, but applied for few open positions.
Then Whitko came calling. Not the girls basketball position, but the boys, and Fields is listening no longer.
After a 5-0 vote from the Whitko school board on Monday, Fields is the new head boys basketball coach for Whitko High School.
"I was going to be very selective," Fields said. "There were several jobs that were open. I had talked with several people, but I did not apply at very many places. It had to be the right place. After talking with several people at Whitko, I decided to apply. It is a special situation with the people and the community.
"It is nice to not have that concern and not answering phone calls and having people wanting you to come and apply," he said.
The school board also voted to hire John Mohr as the new athletic director at the high school, replacing Greg Roach.
Mohr has been the middle school assistant principal and AD for two years and has been teaching in the system for 20 years.
Fields brings a wealth of experience and success to the Whitko program, although mainly with the Viking girls program.
His career record is 206-49 in 10 years of coaching the Huntington North girls, including state championships in 1990 and 1995. In 1996, the Vikings were in midst of a run of 53 wins in 55 games over a two-year period and were ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 3 in the nation before getting upset in the semistate by Kokomo.
Fields is not without experience coaching boys, having served as the Huntington boys freshman coach from 1973 to 1982 and the boys varsity assistant from 1982 to 1987.
"I did boys for more years than I did girls as far as running the Huntington program," Fields said. "The adjustment to the girls was very minor, and I would anticipate the adjustment back will also be very minor. I have always felt basketball is basketball. Getting kids to play hard and getting them to play in the offseason is a No. 1 priority."
At first glance, Whitko wouldn't look like the type of job to attract Fields. The Wildcats' program has been engaged in a sea of controversy since Bill Patrick resigned two seasons ago after 30 years on the job and 479 career wins.
In fact, last season Whitko suffered its first losing season in school history among other notable distinctions. Dave Henson, who replaced Patrick, didn't get his contract renewed after a 27-17 two-year stint as coach and ended up in Elwood.
Fields chose to look beyond the last two years and concentrate on the history of the Whitko program.
"There are things in the past that I have absolutely no control over or have nothing to with those events," Fields said. "What I am going to be able to add is the ability to be a fixture there. I am not someone who will be jumping from job to job. I was at Huntington an awful long time. It is not like this is a temporary stop."
"The people in charge there have a good program," he said of Whitko. "That was probably the No. 1 thing. Also, they have a pretty good history there. Things have not been as good in the recent past as it had been earlier. Potentially, it could be there again. They have had an awful lot of basketball success."
Ironically, Patrick was one of the finalists to replace Henson.
"We liked what he could give as far as a total program goes," Mohr said of Fields. "We knew he could build from the early grades. He has demonstrated that at Huntington."
With little time until the start of the school year, Fields is getting right to work with summer workouts and a basketball camp later this month.
"We do have to make up for lost time," Fields said. "We are going to try to get the open gym back and get the kids playing. And we would like to instill some of the old-time pride that they were once famous for.
"What we are going to do as a coaching staff is try to be very, very accurate in our assessment of what abilities we do and don't have so the offense and defense can fit what we have." [[In-content Ad]]