As the buzzer rang to signal the end of the second round in the state tournament, the players had no idea this would be their last game with Coach Rexroth.
The Lady Wildcats basketball team’s head coach, Jay Rexroth, announced that he was stepping down on the night of Wednesday, April 9.
He will be going to York College to be an assistant coach for the women’s basketball team. The close proximity will allow him to continue teaching at Dallastown while coaching over there.
He had never thought he’d coach at that level, and had no idea he was about to get an offer.
“But when York College hired a new head coach, I was the first person she reached out to about becoming one of her assistants,” Rexroth said.
The new head coach of York College is a former Dallastown student and basketball player, Katie (McGowan) Kilpatrick.
Rexroth has coached for a total of 39 years. After being the boy’s coach for 17 years and girl’s coach for nine years at Dallastown, Coach Rexroth is leaving a legacy behind. During his years at Dallastown, he accomplished winning five YAIAA Championships, and a District 3 Championship.
And JV Coach Brian Harbold, Rexroth’s assistant coach of nine years, believes that not much will change.
“Coach has built a great program with deep rooted culture. I believe the returning players have the “DNA” of Lady Wildcat basketball and they will carry it forward and pass it down to the next class of players. Coach’s legacy will carry on for many years!” Harbold said.
Rexroth’s favorite thing about coaching high schoolers was getting to know and helping the players outside the classroom, though he has so many fond memories, he couldn’t pick a favorite.
“[I liked to] help them have success and reach goals they didn’t believe were possible,” Rexroth said.
Hailey Markey, a junior on the varsity team, would agree that he was very good at lifting the team up and helping them grow.
“Even though I played a smaller role on the team, he always made sure to recognize my efforts and hard work. I am very fortunate to have played for such an amazing coach,” Markey said.
Rexroth will miss seeing the players and coaches everyday, and the coaches feel the same.
“I will miss the Coach’s day before the game T-shirts, his fire, passion and love of the game at every practice, early Saturday morning practices, and just simply talking basketball with him,” Harbold said.
The players will miss Coach Rexroth just as much as the coaching staff.
“I’ll miss his motivating time-out speeches and I can’t imagine Dallastown Girls’ Basketball without Coach Rexroth. Playing for [him] was very motivating and inspiring to become a better player and person,” Markey said.
“Stepping away was one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make.” Rexroth said.
However, being the head coach of Dallastown’s varsity team was very stressful and time-consuming for him, especially with the high standards the program set.
“I feel that now is the right time for me to pursue a new challenge as an assistant coach at the collegiate level—something that comes with less responsibility and allows for a better life balance moving forward,” Rexroth said.
