Friday, May 3, 2013

Chip Sherman named Olathe Northwest head coach

Chip Sherman. PVPost.com
In the latest installment of The Sunflower League: As the World Turns, Chip Sherman tendered his resignation at SM East and accepted the head coaching job at Olathe Northwest.

The Olathe Northwest head coaching position became available a week ago when the Ravens' nine-year head coach, Todd Dain, stepped down from the position to pursue administrative duties at the school.

Sherman's departure has also created a void in the head coaching position at SM East -- and an untimely one, at that.  The Lancer program will be scrambling to name a replacement before the start of their summer weights and conditioning programs which will begin in less than a month.

For Sherman, his reputation is becoming one of a coaching journeyman, albeit a very successful one.  He gained local fame as the head coach at Platte County (MO) High School, where he won three state championships during his tenure as head coach from 1990 to 2007.  In 2008 he took over at Salina South High School, going 8-3 in his first and only season with the program.

In early 2009 he accepted the head coaching position at SM East.  After a brutal 0-3 start to the beginning of the 2009 campaign, the Lancers finished 4-3, losing to eventual state champion Olathe North in  the playoffs.

From 2010 through 2012, the Lancers went a combined 21-10 under Sherman's watch.  This included playoff berths in all three years, not to mention a Sunflower League championship in 2010 (the school's first since the 1960s).

But perhaps the most impressive of victories during that time took place in Sherman's battle with stage-3 Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. After being diagnosed with the disease in the summer of 2011, Sherman underwent chemotherapy treatment for over six months, including during the 2011 season.

In February of 2012 Sherman's cells had cleared of the cancer -- a major victory.  He still undergoes scans ever 60 days as a precautionary measure.

Olathe Northwest, which has employed a spread passing attack in recent years, is the ideal personnel setup for Sherman.  Known for having an affinity for the passing game, Sherman's Lancers gained 55% of their total offense through the air in 2012.  By comparison, last season Olathe Northwest gained 60% of their offense through the air.

9 comments:

MahValley said...

Any word yet on Lancers coaching search?

MahValley said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eli Underwood said...

No word yet, but given the timing, don't expect the hiring process to drag out much past mid-May.

Viking Fan said...

Do you think it will be from inside the school or district? Or do they grab up from outside?

Eli Underwood said...

No idea, but it's my understanding they have candidates representing both parties (internal and external).

TheImpaler said...

I wonder what Mark Mangino is doing...

Govannon Grey said...

I would imagine they would want to pick up someone with HC experience, unless they already had a hand picked successor waiting in the wings (a la Eric Driskell and BV). Given the short time frame, though I suppose anything's possible. I checked, and they don't have the position posted on their web-site yet.

MahValley said...

Sounds like a promotion from within.

Eli Underwood said...

Dustin Delaney (21-10 in three seasons as head coach at Emporia) has been named the new head coach at SM East. He's a chip off the Hutching/Randy Dreiling coaching tree. I'll have something up later today.