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“It is time to be a husband and a father,” Van Winkle said, mentioning his 6-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son. “This past winter I only made one of my daughter’s basketball games. The time commitment to be a good head coach takes me away from my family way too much. For me personally, it was the time to step aside.
Van Winkle amassed a 43-51 record at HHS, going .500 the last three years. This past season HHS went 12-11, the first winning season since 2007. The Big Blue also return a strong nucleus, including Jalen Robinson (17.8 PPG) and D’Marco Howard (17.5 PPG). Additionally, the youth program, the Hamilton Blue Stars, had 275 kids this year.
Van Winkle acknowledged the youth program is in great shape and the HHS roster is set up for success. The Blue Stars enrollment doubled since Van Winkles hiring four years ago.
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“I do understand we have a great team coming back and our foundation at the younger levels is at an all-time high but it would have been selfish to come back,” Van Winkle said. “It has never been about me. To come back for some wins and miss my kids’ events and with the amount of time my wife sacrifices would be selfish.”
“I promised the school district four years ago I would build this program from the bottom up and I stayed true to my word,” Van Winkle said. “I did exactly what I set out to do four years ago. I appreciate the school district allowing me to coach. I have no regrets. I love Hamilton High and the boys basketball team will have me as their biggest fan. I will just cheer from a different seat.”
HHS athletic director Todd Grimm said the search for Van Winkles replacement will begin immediately.
“It was (Sean’s) decision,” Grimm said. “I feel that (Sean) did a great job building our program and had great success building our youth program up. (Sean) and I have always had a great relationship and at the end of the day it was (Sean’s) call to spend more time with his family. I respect his decision and understand his reasons.”
Grimm said the search for the new coach will have no borders, with the job being posted next week within the district and state wide.
“I hate to see (Sean) leave but he has left Hamilton in a good spot with the varsity kids coming back, our middle school teams excelling and out youth program on the rise,” Grimm said. “I am really excited about the prospects we can attract. I feel coaching at Hamiton High is a very attractive job. Everything will be on the table in terms of finding the next coach.”
Grimm didn’t mention specific requirements for the next coach but did mention it will be important for the next coach to understand Hamilton as a school and city as well as the demands of the Greater Miami Conference.
“The city of Hamilton has high expectations for the boys basketball team and we will need someone who understands not only the team but the dynamics of the city.” Grimm said. “We need someone who understands that the GMC is the best public school conference in the state of Ohio and someone who is familiar with Hamilton High School and understands Hamilton and its diversity.”
Grimm didn’t rule out current assistants as possible replacements but mentioned the Big Blue will be patient in picking the next head coach.
“We have a great staff already,” Grimm said. “They have already reached out to me and said they will handle off season work outs when we get back from spring break.”
Van Winkle said his highlight was the Big Blue’s win in the last game at Middletown’s storied Wade E. Miller gym.
“As a coach, to take a team into that enviroment, with the greats from Middletown being introduced, in front of the Hamilton fans and Middletown fans, was amazing,” Van Winkle. “One night, for two hours, our kids understood what it meant to truly represent the city of Hamilton. To see our kids celebrating a win is something I won’t forget. I believe they understood it was only about the name on the front of the jersey.”
As for coaching again, Van Winkle was adamant this was his last go around. Van Winkle has a career record of 173-144. As the head coach at Ross, Van Winkle was 59-48 before amassing a 71-43 record in five seasons at Lakota West. VanWinkle was the 2012 GMC coach of the year as well as the 2010 and 2012 District 15 Coaches Association coach of the year.
“This is it,” Van Winkle said. “I told the district four years ago this is my last coaching job. It is time to focus on being a husband and a father.”
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