ELYRIA — From ball boy to head coach.
It must seem like a dream to Brett Larrick, who was named Wednesday to replace Bob Walsh as Elyria High’s boys basketball coach. Larrick’s appointment is expected to be approved at the April 15th school board meeting.
The legendary Walsh stepped down March 10 after guiding Elyria to its first Sweet 16 appearance in 31 years. He’s been Larrick’s mentor the past three years, grooming Larrick for his dream job.
“I’m very excited,” said Larrick, who served as an Elyria ball boy under Keith Sooy. “Being here, growing up here. I’m looking forward to it.”
“He’s ready,” said Walsh, who won 643 games in a Hall of Fame career that spanned 42 years and included state championships at Clearview and Oberlin along with successful stops at Vermilion, Elyria Catholic and Elyria. “He’s learned.”
Larrick began coaching at Elyria in 1999 under girls coach Mike Walsh.
“You could say it’s like two ends of the spectrum,” Larrick said. “Being with (Bob Walsh) the past three years has taught me a lot. He’s been very open-minded and very giving. I feel very fortunate to have been able to work with him the past three years.”
“We feel very fortunate to have Brett,” said Elyria athletic director Jerry Chizmar. “He came through the school system. His heart is here. We’re happy to give him the opportunity.
“Bob’s been a great teacher and Brett has learned from one of the best. It’s put us in a tremendous position.”
Larrick was given more and more responsibility by Walsh the past couple of seasons.
“He let me do more on-the-spot coaching,” Larrick said. “He’s shared his knowledge of so many years. He’s so well-respected by other coaches. I’ve learned a great deal from him.”
“I’ve always allowed my assistants to contribute,” Walsh said. “People sometimes don’t understand how important assistant coaches are to the head coach. I’ve been blessed over the years with some great assistant coaches. Brett was anxious to get the opportunity. I believe he’s ready.”
Larrick was a prolific scorer at Elyria High and held all the school scoring records until Louis Tumblin eclipsed the marks a couple of years ago.
Ironically, in Walsh’s absence, Larrick was the bench coach the night Tumblin broke his single-game mark with 45 points at Parma in 2006.
Larrick scored 531 points as a junior in 1991-92 and followed that up with 551 points as a senior. For his career, he scored 1,351 points and had a game-high 42 points against North Ridgeville in his final game at Elyria’s gym — hitting a record nine 3-pointers in the process. He graduated from Charleston Southern in 1997 where he still holds a number of scoring marks. Larrick was inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and Charleston Southern’s HOF in 2004.
Earlier this year, Larrick announced his engagement to another former Elyria athlete — Jenn Snyder. The two will be married in August.
Larrick’s task as Elyria’s next coach won’t be easy. Elyria will lose 10 players to graduation off this year’s district championship team that finished 17-7. Travis Noble will be the lone returning letterman.
“It was a very good group,” Larrick said of this year’s team. “They got to the district finals twice and won it this year. It’s something the younger kids can accomplish.”
“I think they’ll be a little bit better (next year) than people think,” Walsh said. “Brett’s going to do a good job getting them ready.”
“We’ll be starting from scratch,” admitted Larrick, “but it could be an advantage. We have a lot of spots open. I think we’ve got some talent coming up and we’ve started working with the fifth- and sixth-graders. I’m excited about the future.”
Contact Tim Gebhardt at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

THE BRETT LARRICK FILE

• 1993 Elyria High graduate
• Elyria boys varsity assistant last three years
• Second on Elyria’s all-time scoring list
• Elyria Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 2001

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