CINCINNATI – Young women being yelled at during timeouts and the head coach supposedly getting into a near brawl following a game.
Good hard coaching at the high school level in a program that won five titles in six years, including a stretch of four consecutive, earlier this decade or the antics of a coach who has lost the school’s mission to empower young women?
That’s the question Mount Notre Dame varsity head coach Dante Harlan faced this summer following what several sources said was a revolt of sorts from the parents of the athletes on his 18-player roster.
He resigned from the program Monday. A search for his successor is underway, according to the school.
Yelling and psychological smack-downs are commonplace in gymnasiums from elementary school to AAU to college to the NBA. But who decides when a coach crosses the line?
Mount Notre Dame is not just any high school program. Harlan is not just any coach. The Cougars, coming off state championships from 2005-06 to 2008-09, is the first D-I program to win four straight girls state titles in the 34-year history of the OHSAA state tournament. MND is second in terms of all-time D-I championships won — trailing only Pickerington and Regina. Harlan was named D-I coach of the year in 2008-09.
He was named co-coach in 2005-06, joining Dr. Scott Rogers when Kendall Hackney, who would become the Buckeye state’s best player her senior year, was a freshman.
Harlan took over the coaching duties full-time the following season (2006-07) and promptly led MND to three more state titles while compiling a record of 76-7. He was an assistant on the 2004 and 2006 championship teams, and finished his MND coaching stint with a record of 89-17.
The program hit a pothole in 2009-10, after Hackney’s crew, which feature three NCAA Division I student-athletes, moved on to college. Hackney has gone on to start at Northwestern in the Big 10. At least two of her teammates were recruited to play at NCAA D-I schools, including Vanderbilt in the SEC and Ohio University in the MAC.
Harlan told another website that his plan was to leave MND with the Hackney crew, but he decided to coach one more season. The Cougars finished 13-10 in 2009-10, falling 49-41 to Walnut Hills in a district tournament game.
What happened?
MND lost one of its stars, nationally ranked shooting guard Kathryn Reynolds, to a knee injury early in the season. Near the end of the season, Harlan was involved in a verbal confrontation following MND’s game against Seton High, an incident that allegedly sent one his assistant coaches sprawling to the floor. He was suspended for two games due to his actions.
According to Cincinnati.com, MND athletic director Mark Schenkel said the school thanked Harlan for his service and Schenkel offered no other comment. There is no timetable for naming a new coach.
