Bellbrook athletic director announces impending resignation

A new superintendent isn’t the only administrative change Bellbrook-Sugarcreek Schools will experience next school year. Bellbrook High School’s athletic department will undergo a leadership switch, too.

Tom Bean, the district’s athletic director since 1998 and an ‘86 BHS graduate, will step down in June. The job posted internally this week.

Bean was honored in November by the Ohio Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association for 20 years of service. He plans to stay in the district in a new role and “assist with the transition to the new AD in whatever capacity the administration determines is best.”

Focusing on family and health were reasons for his resignation.

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“I am humbled and very proud to have led this ‘team’ for the past 20 years,” Bean told district coaches. “You have heard me say it before, but I will say it again - the athletic staff compiled here at Bellbrook, I feel, is the best in the area and possibly the state.”

During a tenure that spanned two decades, Bean oversaw an athletic program that dominated the Southwestern Buckeye League. The Eagles have won 117 league titles and 17 SWBL All-Sports trophies in the last 19 years.

Other highlights of Bean’s reign include the school’s first individual wrestling and swimming state titles (11 overall), two trips to the Division II girls basketball state tournament, a regional cross country title and district championships in baseball, boys soccer, volleyball and girls soccer. Golf, tennis and track and field also flourished.

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Bean’s departure comes at a time of notable coaching change.

Bellbrook varsity football coach Jeff Jenkins and boys basketball coach Donnie Tate are each entering their third seasons and have shown significant promise. Jenkins’ first two teams ended 7-3. Tate’s squad this season captured a share of the program’s first SWBL title since 2011. The Eagles were 3-9 in the league in Tate’s first season, improving to 10-2 this past season.

The boys varsity soccer program, which has won 26 straight SWBL titles, will be under the direction of first-year head coach Bob Parks, an assistant in the program since 1999. Jeff Scohey, the new varsity golf coach, is a former assistant coach at the United States Air Force Academy.

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One issue facing the incoming AD is the potential for continued growth in the district. Bellbrook is currently D-III in football and D-II in most other sports. Its boys cross country, girls tennis, boys golf and boys and girls track and field teams compete in D-I.

The Golden Eagles have been an active member of the SWBL since 1975 and are currently the second largest school (behind Franklin) in the 14-team affiliation.

The athletic department offers 24 varsity sports (13 girls and 11 boys) and 28 junior varsity and freshman sports (15 girls and 13 boys).

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Dr. Douglas Cozad, currently the assistant superintendent at Franklin City Schools, begins as the Bellbrook-Sugarcreek superintendent on July 1.

Bean was an assistant athletic director at Bellbrook for three years and also served stints (covering 17 years) as a head varsity coach in boys and girls tennis and boys and girls soccer. As an athlete, coach and athletic director, Bean has been involved with the SWBL for 34 years.

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