On the morning of Monday, Jan. 9, Kodi Smith, boys varsity head basketball coach for Centerville Senior High School, posted a summary of the Bulldogs’ game in the recently concluded Wayne County Basketball Tournament on the school’s athletics website.
Later that day, team members were informed he had been removed as coach.
Smith had ended his post by encouraging Bulldog fans to make the short trip south to support the Bulldogs in a Jan. 11 game against the Connersville Spartans .
As the Bulldogs played in the Spartan Bowl, the Centerville-Abington Community Schools board met. The board approved Smith’s termination without comment, effective immediately.
“Administrators felt a change needed to be made, and rather than wait, they felt the change needed to be made now to benefit the program,” Centerville-Abington Community Schools Superintendent Mike McCoy told Western Wayne News after the board meeting.
Before the personnel decision was officially approved, players heard about Smith’s midseason removal at their Jan. 9 practice and learned that Smith was being replaced by Brian Keiser on an interim basis.
Parents of team members were invited to a meeting the following evening to discuss the coaching change.
Keiser, who has been serving as junior varsity coach this season, becomes the fourth different boys basketball head coach at Centerville in the last four years.
Western Wayne News reached out to CSHS Athletic Director Shane Osting for comment. Osting responded that he could not discuss personnel decisions.
McCoy told WWN that Smith was not terminated for any school disciplinary reasons or law violations, but he would not elaborate further.
“It wasn’t about wins and losses,” McCoy said.
McCoy said that the recommendation for Smith’s termination came from the supervising administration at the high school, and that once district administrators receive personnel recommendations, they forward that information to the school board for consideration.
CSHS Principal Tim Hollendonner is among the parents of a current CSHS basketball player. Interim coach Keiser is also a parent of a team member.
Read more about the Bulldogs’ most recent game in the Jan. 18th issue of the Western Wayne News.
Staff writer Millicent Martin Emery contributed to this article.