Ott Hurrle retiring as Scecina football coach: ‘I had a good, enjoyable 50 years’

Ott Hurrle informed players and administration at Scecina on Thursday that he is retiring as football coach.

Hurrle, who will turn 72 next month, said he has been “going back and forth for a year or so” on the decision to retire. The 1970 Scecina graduate spent 46 of his 50 years in coaching at Scecina, including the past 32 as the head coach. Hurrle led the Crusaders to a 229-151 record, including Class 2A state championships in 1990 and ’91.

Scecina Crusaders head coach Ott Hurrle watches Scecina Crusaders game against the Monrovia Bulldogs Friday, Oct. 13, 2023, at Beech Grove High School in Beech Grove. Monrovia Bulldogs defeated Scecina Crusaders 44-0.

Hurrle said he “still enjoyed it thoroughly” but there were some things on and off the field that made coaching more difficult in recent years.

“I had some close friends that passed away recently and there are some things that I want to do,” he said. “And at practice, I can’t really get out of a stance and demonstrate for kids like I used to. I finally faced reality on that. That’s part of coaching I really enjoyed.”

Hurrle, after 14 years as an offensive line coach, took over as Scecina’s coach in 1988 when Ken Leffler became ill. Leffler died two months later from lung cancer at age 44. Hurrle’s first two teams were 2-8 before the Crusaders broke through and won the state championship in 1990, then won it again the next year.

Hurrle left to coach in college in 1995 at Butler, where he stayed for three seasons. He returned to high school in 1998 at Northwestern before coming back home to Scecina in 1999.

“What I’ll miss most is being out there with the kids,” Hurrle said. “I had a good, enjoyable 50 years. I didn’t want to go there on the practice field and feel like I wasn’t into it, especially if that was midway through the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ott-hurrle-retiring-scecina-football-170453048.html

Author : IndyStar | The Indianapolis Star

Publish date : 2024-03-14 17:04:53

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