‘Full-circle’ moment for new Dalton coach
Chase Moyer
Chase Moyer is glad to have an opportunity to be a varsity basketball coach. Doing it at Dalton is a bonus.
“Life has a funny way of offering full-circle moments, and this is definitely one of those for me,” Moyer said. “It’s a surreal feeling. I feel very blessed and honored for this opportunity to coach at Dalton. It’s a community and school district that has a great support system for its student-athletes. I’m thankful to have played in this district and even more so to be a coach here.”
Moyer was named head girls basketball coach at Dalton, where he was a standout a decade ago. The 28-year-old was a two-sport standout for the Bulldogs. He is taking over for Katie Miller, who resigned after leading the program for the last eight seasons.
Miller stepped down this offseason to take the head coaching job at rival Chippewa, replacing legendary coach Denny Shrock, who led the Chipps in his final season to the Division III State Final Four. Miller left Dalton with a career record of 133-73.
Miller, a 2004 Dalton grad, took over the team prior to the 2015-16 season, replacing Stefanie Stevanus, whose teams were a combined 64-75 in six years.
“Coach Miller did a great job with the program and achieved a lot of success in her time here,” Moyer said. “We wish her the best in her new role.”
The Bulldogs this past year were 9-15 overall, 5-8 in the Wayne County Athletic League, which left them in fifth place in a year in which the conference was topped by powerhouse squads at Waynedale, Smithville and Chippewa.
Moyer takes over a team that graduated roughly half its roster, including four multi-year letter-winners.
“The program graduated multiple contributors from last season,” Moyer said. “However, we are really excited about the players and talent we have coming back. The team has been working hard this offseason, learning new terminology and buying into the points of emphasis for our system. I’m looking forward to this coming season.”
Like all coaches, Moyer will look to put his stamp on the Bulldogs. He said that will include a focus on defense.
He will not try to cram his team into a system and will instead shape his system around what his players can do.
“Our program will be built on a foundation of relentless effort and strong defensive principles,” he said. “From there we will work to implement schemes that fit our personnel. I believe in executing the fundamentals really well. If we can focus on doing the little things correctly, we give ourselves a much better opportunity to achieve our goals.”
During his Bulldog days, Moyer was a three-year letter-winner in basketball, adding those to the four he won in football. He was a three-time All-WCAL selection, earning all-district honors as a junior and senior and receiving an All-Ohio special mention as a senior when he was WCAL Player of the Year. He is a graduate of Otterbein University.