WHEELING – A man for all seasons.

Darryl Crews certainly fills the bill. He has been a Linsly School coaching dynamo for two-plus decades.

Crews recently announced his retirement from coaching and teaching at the Leatherwood-based campus. He has coached the Cadets for 21 years.

Amazingly, he did so in five sports.

Crews coached hockey, wrestling, girls’ soccer, boys’ soccer and softball during his time at Linsly. His tenure covered every athletic season, doing so with class, passion and integrity.

Crews, age 68, launched his Linsly coaching career in 1998, a year before he became a full-time employee at the school. He guided the middle school soccer team that fall, spawning an amazing and diversified career with the Cadets.

“It has been a special time at Linsly and a tremendous experience. Linsly has been a major part of my life,” Crews noted. “I wouldn’t trade coaching five sports for anything. It kept me busy and it was a good use of my life. Whatever sport was in season was my favorite. Wrestling and softball were the easiest with my background.

“I gained so much enjoyment from my student-athletes. I got great reward for the time I was putting in,” he added. “One of my favorite things about Linsly was that the parents were very supportive and expressed their support in so many ways. I am full of so many great memories.”

He became a history teacher at the school in 1999 and with it came a full plate of coaching. Crews again coached middle school soccer that fall, followed by assisting Tom Giovengo with wrestling while also serving as Liz Hofreuter’s softball assistant in the spring. He coached the mat sport through the 2001 campaign.

In 2000, Crews was promoted to assistant coach for the boys’ varsity soccer team, directed by Dave Coutts. He held that post for four seasons.

Crews got his first taste of being a head coach in the winter of 2002, taking the reins of the Cadets’ fledgling hockey team. He guided the Linsly ice squad for six campaigns.

In 2004, Crews opted to move from boys’ soccer to girls’ soccer to assist head coach Jill Regan. He was subsequently an assistant to Erica Hall and then to Chelsea Miazgowicz. Crews became head girls’ soccer coach in 2018.

Crews has spent his entire Linsly tenure associated with the Linsly softball program. He assisted Hofreuter from 1999 until 2008 when he became the head coach.

“Darryl has always been everything Linsly wants in a faculty member. He was a full-time history teacher and he coached multiple sports (many years three seasons). Darryl was involved and cared about the students,” Linsly athletic director and head football coach B.J. Depew said. “He coached both boys and girls, and he believed in the mission of the school. We are going to miss him.”

Crews landed in the Friendly City via the Southwest. The Tulsa native earned a wrestling scholarship to Oklahoma University. He ended up graduating from a small college in Texas (now known as Texas A&M Corpus Christi).

He married a Wheeling native in 1978. Her family operated a funeral home (McCoy) in the Ohio Valley.

“I was pleased to come into an environment at Linsly with so many special people. People like Reno DiOrio, Terry Depew, Gary Sprague and Dave Plumby. They all helped me to see what it was like to be a Linsly guy, and that was important to me,” Crews said. “The Linsly philosophy in the classroom extends onto the athletic field. Just like students are held to a high standard in the classroom they are also held to a high standard on the athletic field. That standard is not so much applied to how well they perform but how they conduct themselves in practice and games as well as how hard they work.

“It is a primary goal to not only make them good students and accomplished athletes but more importantly to help them become better humans and contributing members of their communities. One of the greatest things about teaching and coaching is that you get to know your athletes as complete people,” he continued. “Being in the classroom with them and seeing them at practice and games gives you a much better understanding into them as individuals. That interaction is one of the things that I will miss the very most.”

Crews’s countless contributions to the school also drew praise from Linsly Head of School Justin Zimmerman.

“Mr. Darryl Crews, social studies department teacher, coach, advisor and someone who has worn many, many hats at our school, is impossible to replace. As both a respected teacher and coach, Mr. Crews has made a positive difference for so many Linsly students. Linsly was lucky that Mr. Crews never backed down from coaching three seasons of sports per year, and the fact that he did that for most of his Linsly career is impressive,” Zimmerman said. “It is bittersweet to see Darryl retire. Mr. Crews has always been very involved in our community, and I suspect that might continue in some ways, but I also know that his role as a grandfather, father, husband, and one very involved with his church, will keep him plenty busy now that he potentially has a little more time on his hands. We thank Mr. Crews, for all he has given Linsly and we wish him well as he begins this next chapter in his life.”

Now as he enters a new stage of his life, Crews is still unsure of how he will fill the void of the classroom and endless coaching.

“I need to discover what my new normal is going to be. I plan on staying active. There are plenty of things out there to do,” Crews noted. “I am very active in the church and I am sure I will stay active in it. I would rather burn out than rust out.”

Darryl and his wife, Judy, have three sons: Nathan, Christopher and Micah.

BUBBA’S BITS

¯ WE EXTEND Happy Father’s Day wishes to all the dads out there. May your special day be a blessed one.

¯ THE MARTINS Ferry Chamber of Commerce is holding a fall banquet on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Martins Ferry Rec Center at 6 p.m. Featured speaker will be Rich Donnelly. The Steubenville native has coached at the Major League Baseball level for several teams, and owns a World Series ring while assisting Jim Leyland with the Florida Marlins. He also has authored a best-selling book – “The Chicken Runs at Midnight.” In conjunction with the banquet, the Martins Ferry Chamber is selling copies of that book at a reduced price. For more information on the banquet or the book, call the chamber office at 740-633-2565. Donnelly’s current coaching gig is manager for the New York Mets’ Class A-advanced affiliate farm team in Port St. Lucie (Fl). He coached the Pittsburgh Pirates with Leyland from 1986-96.

¯ THE WVSSAC has again selected Huntington as the host city for the state wrestling tournament for 2020-21 to 2023-24. The 2021 tournament will be held March 4-6.

¯ THE JOHN Marshall boys and girls golf teams are seeking new members for students entering grades 9-12 for the fall season. Previous experience at playing golf is preferred, but not required. Freshman and sophomore members also have the opportunity to earn their high school physical education credit as well. Parents or students should contact head coach Dave Gaudino at David.gaudino@gmail.com or call (304) 242-0407, or contact girls coach Bridget Carnahan at bmjordan@k12.wv.us.

¯ TWO RECENTLY graduated Steubenville High football standouts have earned D-I college scholarships. Running back Tayveon Crawford is now headed to Idaho State while quarterback-defensive back Randy Mitchell is going to Toledo University.