Cheryl Burnett smiles and shakes her head when folks want to give her all the credit. Yes, her name will forever be associated with Lady Bears basketball. See the two Final Four banners hanging from the rafters at JQH Arena? And spot two of the retired jerseys hanging nearby of stars Melody Howard and Jackie… Read more »
News
Category: Coaches
Denny Burrows
Denny Burrows accepted his first coaching position at Van Buren High School in 1941. In 1946, he took his team to the state tournament in St. Louis. Burrows was then hired to coach at Ozark High School in 1947. Just two years after taking over as coach, the took them to the state tournament. In… Read more »
Sharon Buschjost
The great thing about sports is that everybody has a neat story, some more remarkable than others. Consider Sharon Buschjost. Back in 1996, happy being a stay-at-home mom for a third year away from teaching, the phone rang and on the other end of the line was her brother-in-law, the Blair Oaks High School athletic… Read more »
Jack Bush
Before his retirement from the high school basketball coaching ranks in 2001, Jack Bush was referred to by many in the Kansas City area as the “dean of high school basketball.” In 1949, he began his 52-year high school coaching career at Washington High School in Caruthersville, MO. Three years later, he made his coaching… Read more »
Rick Byers
Looking back, anyone would have understandably guessed that he would climb the ladder like any young high school football coach, gain valuable experience and move on. Yet Rick Byers found his calling. In 1987, about a year after walking across the college graduation stage, he came aboard the football coaching and teaching staff at St.… Read more »
Mick Byrd
In sports, we all love stories about the hometown boy making good. Or the veteran coach who calls it quits but wins a championship on his way out the door. Former Vienna High School softball coach Mick Byrd fits into both categories. A Vienna native, Byrd was a three-sport athlete for the Eagles before going… Read more »
Nan Carter
After earning her degree from Northwest Missouri State, she joined the Trenton Public School System in 1953 as a physical education instructor and then moved to the South Harrison School District, teaching until her retirement in 1982. Having played softball during the 1940’s and 1950’s, Mrs. Carter saw the need for a softball program for… Read more »
Julie Carver
She was a three-sport athlete, not only in high school but also in college, and that wasn’t even the best part. She listened to coaches at every turn, picking up subtle strategies – in practices and camps – that would become significant years later. And then Julie Carver took a phone call in 1989. Holden… Read more »
Shane Cavanah
Since being named as Head Coach at Knox County in 1965, and inheriting a team with only 23 players, Shane Cavanah has compiled a career coaching record of 255-119-3 and was the Head Coach of the first ever Class One State Champions while at Princeton in 1968. Cavanah also coached two State Runner-ups in 1975… Read more »
John Earl Chase
John Earl Chase spent over forty years in public education coaching, primarily at Branson High School in basketball, football, track and baseball. He began his career in 1939 at Branson High School as an assitant basketball coach and head football coach where he introduced 6 man football to the school. In 1948, he re-entered coaching… Read more »
Ted Chittwood
Ted Chittwood grew up in the Kansas City metro area and attended Missouri Valley College. He graduated in 1947 after an outstanding collegiate multi-sport career in football, basketball and track. He moved to Raytown and became a coach and teacher for Raytown High School, where he remained for 34 years, retiring in 1981. During his… Read more »
Leah Clark
Back when she was in high school, golf wasn’t even offered. And so she played volleyball, basketball and ran on the track & field team. Years later, while living in Kansas City, the sport sort of found her. And then, in the late 1990s, a job coaching golf found Leah Clark. At the time, she… Read more »
Ron Clawson
Imagine a childhood as one of 16 siblings, including eight brothers, five who had a thirst for running. And, more often than not, Ron Clawson would be right in the thick of it all. This was back in the 1960s in Meadville. “With all these family participants, we would host track meets in our backyard,… Read more »
Teri Clemens
The winningest coach by percentage in NCAA volleyball history at the time of her retirement in 1998, Washington University’s Teri Clemens guided her team to seven NCAA Division III national championships in 14 years. Owner of a 529-77 (.873) career record, Clemens coached the Bears to the school’s first NCAA title in 1989. Her teams… Read more »
Dewey Combs
Coaching 29 years at four different high schools, Dewey Combs compiled an impressive overall record of 213-65-14. Along the way, Coach Combs garnered four state championships. His first came in 1966 as he and his Trenton Bulldogs were named Class M State Champs by sportswriters. His 19 year tenure in Joplin, which began in 1967,… Read more »
Steve Combs
Steve Combs has been obsessed with basketball nearly all his life. The former Harrisburg boy’s coach, Combs grew up as a Bulldog, rooting for one of the smoothest players of all-time and the local college team. “I always wanted to be a basketball player,” he said. “I was a huge Harrisburg Bulldog and Mizzou Tigers… Read more »