Clarke Central High School head basketball coach Andre McIntyre, head baseball coach Adam Osborne and head golf coach Andy Dean (left to right) are displayed in a graphic. These coaches will not be returning to coach for CCHS in the 2020-21 school year. Graphic by Owen Donnelly
On April 6 and 7, jobs for Clarke Central High School head baseball, boys basketball and golf coaches were posted to the Clarke County School District website’s hiring page.
According to the Clarke County School District hiring page, the positions for head boys basketball coach, head baseball coach and head golf coach are all open at Clarke Central High School for the 2020-21 school year.
CCHS varsity baseball coach Adam Osborne, a math department teacher, and golf coach Andy Dean, an English department teacher, both confirmed that they will not be returning to CCHS next year. It is currently unclear whether or not boys varsity basketball head coach Andre McIntyre will be returning to teach at CCHS.*
Osborne cited a growing family and time restrictions as the primary reasons for his exit from CCHS.
“I’ve accepted a position to teach math at Oconee County Middle School, which is less than 15 minutes away from our house, as opposed to Clarke Central (which), with no traffic, is 25-35 minutes, which is a big deal when you talk about going there and back. That’s an hour’s worth of driving right there,” Osborne said. “We’ve got a growing family. Our first child’s due in August, and we don’t live in Clarke County anymore. We bought a house a couple of years ago and live out in Oconee County, and time is the real big thing in the family.”
According to Dean, he also won’t be returning to CCHS to teach or coach golf due to personal reasons.
“The decision I made was best for myself professionally,” Dean said. “I am looking to continue my profession in education — this is year 19 or 20 (that) I’ve been doing this. (I’m) pursuing a specialist degree right now, and I don’t know if I’ll be in the classroom next year (or) if I’ll be in some sort of support position. I’m still exploring opportunities there.”
CCHS baseball left outfielder Will Robinson, a junior, says that Osborne’s resignation was somewhat shocking for him and the team.
“I felt like we were gonna be a lot better next year. I wasn’t really that mad cause I understand, he’s got a kid coming,” Robinson said. “(We) gotta prepare for the next coach to come in and perform. I mean, everybody was a little bit sad when it happened, but you got to move on and play for whoever else comes in.”
CCHS golf player Katie Sue Martin-Williams, a junior, says that the team will miss Dean’s presence as a coach.
“I think we’ll still have a lot of fun, but we’ll definitely miss him. He’s a big part of the team,” Martin-Williams said. “We would just joke around, and he was really good at making corrections for me. I’m not exactly the best golfer, so it was kind of fun just to mess around and learn how to play with him.”
CCHS varsity basketball manager Jackson Bramlett, a junior, says that McIntyre’s leave was unexpected and neither he nor the team has heard from McIntyre regarding the job listing.
“(I first heard) about a week and a half ago from one of the basketball group chats, (from) Alex Smith,” Bramlet said. “I was so shocked because (McIntyre has) been in the program for a long time, and we had just beaten the number one team in the state and accomplished what I thought to be a successful season.”
*Boys varsity head coach Andre McIntyre, CCHS athletic director Dr. Jon Ward and CCHS principal Dr. Swade Huff failed to respond to multiple email requests seeking comment.
Some interviews conducted by Variety Editor Natalie Ripps.
