Boyle names Steve Adams as new boys basketball coach

April 25, 2008|LARRY VAUGHT

Steve Adams, 47, is the new Boyle County boys basketball coach.

Adams was hired today after Boyle's four-person interview committee finished talking to six candidates.

Adams, a 1979 Mercer County graduate and former head coach at Tennessee Wesleyan College, had the attributes that high school principal Elmer Thomas said were important to the hiring committee.

"We wanted someone that could be an encourager. We wanted someone dynamic. We wanted a disciplinarian. We wanted someone big in education that would be a good role model for the kids," said Thomas, who headed the interview committee and made the recommendation to Supt. Steve Burkich to hire Adams. "We wanted someone capable of getting along with other programs and athletics teams in the school."

Adams did his student teaching at Boyle, coached and taught three years at Harrodsburg High School and has been an athletics director at a Florida high school. He coached at Tennessee Wesleyan in Cleveland, Tenn, for 10 years before accepting a job offer four years ago to go into private business.

"He's had previous coaching experience with high school kids and him being out of coaching for four years was not a concern for the committee," Thomas said.

Adams, who will teach physical education at the high school, knows Boyle football coach Larry French, a member of the interview committee. French was coaching at Mercer when Adams played there. Current Boyle baseball coach David Camic was Adams' summer league coach.

Good fit

"The attributes we wanted in a coach were all equally weighted and Steve came out on top when we did that," Thomas said.

The Boyle principal said the new coach not only needed to work well with other coaches, but he needed to fit in well in the overall school system.

"We wanted someone interested and willing to work with other programs. We want him to be visible at band competitions or out in the community promoting Boyle County," Thomas said.

Others known to have interviewed for the job were former Boyle players Greg Edwards and Derek Springate, Mercer assistant coach Spencer Tatum and Henry County head coach Jason Holland. Thomas would not say who the other candidate was and said logistics could not be worked out to interview a seventh candidate.

"The whole process was good. We had a good number of applicants for the job," Thomas said.

The principal said the ties Springate, an assistant coach at West Jessamine, and Edwards, an assistant at Boyle, had did not hurt or help them.

"I think everyone with local ties had an equal opportunity. We stayed positive with everyone and took time to ask the same questions of each candidate," Thomas said. "We looked more at the attributes we wanted in the coach than we did at local ties."

Adams could not be reached for comment after the hire but is expected in Boyle County next week to meet with his players.

See www.amnews.com and Sunday's The Kentucky Advocate for more information.

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