FREMONT – When the Fremont Ross boys basketball team walked off the court for the final time, following its season-ending sectional loss to Toledo Central Catholic, only those closest to him had any inkling it might be the last game of coach Mark Gedeon’s career.
Boys basketball coach Mark Gedeon
Friday afternoon, however, Gedeon, Ross’ longest-tenured head coach of any sport, told his team he was retiring after 28 years with the program, the last 23 as head coach. Gedeon, 49, said the decision came out of consideration for his health. Though he declined to go into specifics, he said the long hours, stress and restless nights have taken their toll.
“A lot of it is stress-related and sleep-related, physical ailments,” Gedeon said. “Unfortunately, you see this in the coaching profession and working professions. I have very, very high expectations for myself and I want the best that’s possible and the best for my kids and the best for this community. It’s not anything where somebody else is making the decision for me, I’m making this decision. There’s a time that I thought I’d be doing this until I’m 70-plus years old.
“There’s times I wonder what could be next, because I have no idea,” he added. “I do know I love Fremont, I love Fremont Ross, my family resides here. I’ve joked before, our dryer lint is always purple. We’re very invested in this community and we’ll continue to be that.”
After coaching the junior varsity team for five seasons, Gedeon became the head coach prior to the 1995-96 season. In his second season, Ross won a district championship and a berth in the state’s Sweet 16, the program’s longest postseason run since 1930. During Gedeon’s tenure, the Little Giants won six sectional championships.
Gedeon posted a 255-257 career record and averaged 16 wins a season from 1996 to 2003, including three straight Great Lakes League Championships from 2001-2003, and a fourth league title, playing in the Greater Buckeye Conference, in 2006. The 2003 team was ranked 11th in the state and went on to an 18-4 season. In his final season, the Little Giants posted a 9-14 overall record, 3-11 in the Three Rivers Athletic Conference.
“I’ve been so honored to be the head basketball coach for the last 23 years here,” Gedeon said. “I thought now is a good time to try to make sure the program continues to go in a positive direction and that is there is time for the new coach to lay a foundation for the summer and go from there.”
Gedeon noted the extreme difficulty of the decision and admitted it’s not the way he’d envisioned his retiring from coaching.
“This is a very, very difficult decision for me to make. I know a lot of people didn’t see this coming but it’s just something I felt I had to make,” he said. “They say you’ll know when you’re done and you’re going to retire, and it’ll be clear as day or you’ll rejoice when you hit that retirement spot. I don’t feel that way. I wrestle with this every hour of every day. Is this the right decision for myself, for my family for Fremont Ross? I don’t know the answer to that and I definitely don’t feel happy about it. It’s very emotional.”
Ross athletic director Chad Berndt said the position will open for external candidates beginning on Monday. A committee will be formed of representatives of the school district, Ross High School and the community in choosing which candidates to interview and who is hired. Berndt hopes a new coach will be in place by June.
He said he was sorry to see Gedeon retire but understood and agreed Gedeon’s health came first.
“Mark has been a staple here at Fremont Ross for quite some time and is synonymous with Fremont Ross basketball,” Berndt said. “When you say ‘Mark Gedeon’ what you think of is Fremont Ross basketball. I understand why he felt he needed to step down and I commend him for reaching that tough decision.
“I understand why he was doing it for himself and you can’t fault the guy for it, but it’s a huge loss for the athletic department and for the Ross basketball program,” he continued. “It’s definitely going to be very difficult to find a replacement to match the success he’s had over the last 23 years and everything he’s done to sustain a stable program is going to be a daunting task for the next person coming in.”
Gedeon said he hopes the effort with which his teams played will be how his coaching tenure is remembered.
“Hopefully people will say they know I gave everything I possibly could to this program. That I cared, I was passionate that we stressed fundamentals and teamwork and details and doing things the right way,” Gedeon said. “And our success was a by-product of talent. We weren’t going to beat ourselves. We were going to play hard, with passion and energy and represent Fremont and Fremont Ross to the best of our abilities.”