McQuiston resigns as Shenango basketball coach

Mar. 15—The Shenango High boys basketball team will need a new coach come the 2024-25 season.

Bob McQuiston sent his letter of resignation on Feb. 28 and the Shenango Area School Board unanimously voted to accept his resignation on Monday. Al Burick and Michael Miloser were absent from the meeting.

"I had a great experience coaching there. I said in my resignation letter that I got to do something I love with people I love at a place that I love. To be able to teach and coach here is a dream come true," McQuiston said. "Basketball is one of my passions and I've always been a Shenango guy. I couldn't see myself coaching anywhere else. Coaching my boys was one of the benefits of it. It's not only that but I have a lot of great relationships with the coaches and the student athletes I got to work with."

Now, McQuiston is hoping to watch his two sons, Colin McQuiston and Brody McQuiston, play at the next level. Colin McQuiston plays basketball at Slippery Rock University and Brody McQuiston will graduate from Shenango this year.

"Colin is going to be a senior next year and I missed his games this year because of my schedule. It was tough. You know your son is playing but you have a game at the same time or I have practice and he has a game," McQuiston said. "I don't want to miss this year. With Brody going off to school now as well, I'm going to be able to have that luxury of going to their games to watch them play. If I was still coaching I wouldn't be able to do that. I missed a lot of their games like junior high and elementary games. I don't want to miss their last few years of playing."

McQuiston coached at Shenango for 18 years and athletic director Jan Budai said he did an "outstanding job," adding, "He was dedicated; devoted in every aspect of the game. He loved coaching his sons. He put the time in. There's no doubt about it as far as his efforts."

McQuiston had an overall record of 207-216 in the span of his 18 years at the helm.

Budai said there should be interview processes to fill McQuiston's position by April. McQuiston, a 1989 Shenango graduate, was hired in 2006 to replace Bill McNees, whom he was an assistant coach for at the time.

"I know the board will do a good job interviewing the next candidate. I was talking to coach McNees and it was great because I got to play for him but then I got to coach with him and when I took over when he stepped aside and stayed away," McQuiston said. "But, at the same time, we talked after every game and I picked his brain. I used him as a mentor and a sounding board. That was great. Although he was from New Castle, he taught at Shenango and coached there for 25 years.

"There were a lot of times I had to call him about things and he was willing to help out. He was willing to come into the gym. That's the kind of relationship Coach McNees and I will always have."

McQuiston said he was thankful to the administration, the school board, Budai and his wife Wendy McQuiston for always being supportive.

"It was nice to have the support there and I thought the faculty was great with things that we did with assemblies," he said. "My family; my wife was very supportive. She had to be the referee at home. When things were rough, she never let me get down on myself. If things were good, she didn't let me get too high on myself either. It was tough on her for sure because she's taking one boy to the elementary game and one to the junior high game and trying to see me coach."

McQuiston said he's not one to say he knows everything about basketball, but instead, surrounded himself with people who knew the game and whom he is thankful for as well.

"I started with (Mike) Othities. He was an assistant the last couple of years. I had a chance to work with Brad Ziegler, a Shenango hall of famer, coach (Ricci) LaRocco was on my staff, coach (Bryan) Chieze.

"The relationships with the players are the main reason you do it. It's not about the money. You do it because you enjoy being around the players. Fortunately for me, the relationships I built with those kids — it goes beyond basketball now. I look at my coaching staff and they're all former players except coach Othities. I played for him. When they come back you become friends because of the relationships when you were younger."

What's next for McQuiston?

"I'm going to enjoy relaxing," he said, adding, "I'm going to have some more free time. I like to hunt so I know I'll do a lot of hunting with my buddy Ziggy. I talked to Steve McNees and he has that Run The Show program and I'm more than welcome to help out...I'm going to enjoy some time away from it. I still love the game, but you know when it's time and it was time for me to give it up. I know I'm going to miss it come November when the game plan starts."