CATAWISSA RR - Southern Columbia Area Board of Directors has opened the boys basketball head coaching position.
The post had previously been occupied by Dave Yost.
Yost, a Southern graduate, will not reapply and his dismissal comes as a shock to him.
"(The board) just called me in and said they decided it was time to go in a different direction," Yost said when reached by phone Wednesday.
Southern Columbia Athletic Director Jim Roth gave some insight into the board's decision.
"They just felt there were some
issues in the program, without getting into specifics," Roth said.
"The board decided it would be a better situation with someone else in there."
Numbers, not wins and losses, were the issue according to Roth. The turnout for a program that made an appearance in the PIAA state playoffs in 2012 was hurting. Yost had a four-year record of 55-44.
"A lot of kids weren't coming out," Roth said.
Southern Columbia, unlike many schools, does not have a long-term contract with coaches and can, if it chooses, open the position after any season.
"Our positions, all of our coaching positions, are year to year," Roth said. "If the board doesn't decide to open it up, everything stays status quo."
Hired to replace the retired Curt Stellfox, Yost brought an extensive background to Southern.
Early in his career, he served from 1995 to 2001 as the freshman basketball coach at Class AAAA Pocono Mountain High School. That was before the district split into East and West.
He was the freshman baketball coach at Milton from 2001-02, then was the junior varsity coach at Danville from 2002-08.
Yost also served four seasons from 2002-05 as the head varsity baseball coach at Milton High School.
"I don't know what I'm going to do," Yost said when asked about his future plans. "Right now, I'm relaxing and enjoying my family."