At the end of the boys soccer season last year, West Holmes coach Dave Zimmerly decided that his commute of 45 minutes to West Holmes High School every day was simply too much and decided to hang it up as coach after one season at the helm.
The search for Zimmerlys replacement as boys soccer coach went deep into the summer until finally Zimmerly decided that he would be willing to make a sacrifice for the team he grew to love last season and rejoin the program as its leader once again for 2015.
He has since moved to Millersburg and has started working at Chuck Nicholson Inc. where it makes it much easier for him to spend time with his players and work with the younger groups of soccer teams in the area.
The only way I would come back to West Holmes is if I moved down here, Zimmerly said. I told Lee Ann (Race) at the end of last season that the program needed someone who was local and I couldnt offer that.
I like the guys and I felt bad leaving them, Zimmerly said. We started something last year and now with me back we can continue to build from that.
Now in his second go-around as a first-year coach of the Knights, Zimmerlys location is already paying dividends for the program.
When my players need something now, I dont have to drive 45 minutes back to Millersburg. It also helps with getting to parents and their kids so we can get them involved in soccer. That is what this program needed.
Another thing Zimmerly is passionate about this time around is the youth soccer players in the area. He can already be seen on Sunday evenings coaching the U14 and U12 boys soccer teams with expertise. His coaching also includes club training with Pennine Soccer Club in Hudson, Ohio.
The girls youth programs have a lot of numbers. The boys dont. Id like to see that change, Zimmerly said.
As far as his high school group goes, 10 seniors from last years team graduated and now Zimmerly has a new group of seniors who are a tad more raw.
We have a lot of seniors, but they are young as far as varsity minutes are concerned, Zimmerly said. Were a little more dangerous than last year and really have to play to our strengths.
Zimmerly will hope to get some scoring punch from his seniors Ethan Fair, Dylan Jolley, Marek DeWitt, Alex Blake, Drew Schrock and Cole Woods.
We lack size and we struggle adjacent strong physical teams, Zimmerly said. We also have big shoes to fill between the pipes with the loss of our goalkeeper Logan Gallion to graduation.
Winning is not a hope, it is the objective this season, he said.
