By Jim Henry
jhenry@joplinglobe.com
After 11 years, Walter Resa has stepped down as girls basketball head coach at Webb City High School.
And, the Cardinals didn’t have to look far to find a replacement.
Brad Shorter, the head coach at Carl Junction the last three seasons, has been hired as the Cardinals’ new head coach, and Resa will serve as his assistant.
“Realistically it’s a great situation because Walter didn’t have to give it up,” Shorter said. “It’s a situation where him being my assistant, I feel like is going to be a great asset. To have a head coach’s mind right beside me is going to be something special. It was his job to give to me basically.”
Shorter won 48 games and one district championship the last three years with the Bulldogs.
“I was not looking to leave. It was an opportunity for me,” Shorter said. “I’m happy with the way things were going. I felt like we’d turned around the girls basketball program there. This opportunity came up, and I couldn’t pass it up.
“It’s going to be tough to leave the kids in the classroom and on the court. The community and the administration, all my colleagues, it was a wonderful experience. It’s tough to leave, but Webb City is going to be a great place as well.
“Leaving my hometown (Lockwood) for Carl Junction was tough, and this is tough. When you’re in this business for the kids and you learn to love them and care for them like many of us do, it’s tough to leave them.”
Under Resa’s direction, the Cardinals won three district championships, including this year’s team that lost in the quarterfinals to eventual Class 4 champion Bolivar.
By becoming an assistant, Resa hopes to be able to spend more time with his family.
“Head coaching takes a lot of family time,” Resa said. “It’s year round, through the summer. I also coached both my daughter’s and son’s basketball teams, and between the two of them, they played about 80-85 games on top of my high school games.
“There’s still going to be time (involved) but not all the headaches that a head coach has. I’m not going to desert Brad. I’m going to be there. A lot of the paper work that the head coach has to do, I won’t have to mess with now. I can do a lot of Xs and Ox. I told Brad this (assistant’s role) gets me a seat closer to the girls, which is what I’m going to like.”
Resa will remain the Cardinals’ head coach in softball.
“It’s a grind, having two head coach jobs in a school our size,” Resa said. “Our administration at Webb City has been very good supporting me when I was head coach in both, and they supported me with this decision. This was my decision.”
Sports
Resa steps down; Cards hire Shorter
- Sports
-
-
Kickapoo girls race past Joplin
Annie Armstrong poured in 21 points to lead the Kickapoo girls to a 65-28 victory over Joplin on Thursday night in an Ozark Conference basketball game at Missouri Southern’s Young Gymnasium.
-
Cheever is ultimate blue-collar snowboarder
As a World Cup snowboardcross racer, Jonathan Cheever has taken his share of spills over the years.
-
District wrestling tournaments begin tonight
Neosho’s wrestling lineup will have a different look when the Class 3 district wrestling tournament begins at 6 p.m. today at Carthage.
-
Late board work carries Lions past Pittsburg State
Pittsburg State displayed its offensive rebounding muscle during Wednesday night’s game at Missouri Southern.
-
Pitching holds key for softball Lions
Pitching is the main question Missouri Southern must answer as the Lions open their softball season today in Abilene, Texas.
-
Quapaw completes 12-0 run through Lucky '7' Conference
Quapaw High School girls basketball coach Rod Graves expected the 2011-12 Wildcats to compile another successful season.
They haven’t been a disappointment. -
Hillsdale women stop OCC
Visiting Hillsdale Free Will Baptist handed Ozark Christian a 68-47 loss in women’s college basketball on Thursday night.
-
Tomlin, Steelers welcome Haley as new coordinator
Throughout the 16 minutes that followed him glowingly introducing former Kansas City Chiefs coach Todd Haley as his new offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stood proudly in the corner of the second-floor media room at the team’s facility.
-
Rangers, Cruz strike $16M, 2-year deal
Two-time defending AL champion Texas has avoided arbitration with another of its core players, agreeing Thursday to a $16 million, two-year contract with AL championship series MVP Nelson Cruz.
-
Auburn’s Ward adapts game after injury at Texas
Auburn’s Varez Ward can’t take to the air quite like he used to. The onetime Texas starter is still trying to regain strength and explosiveness more than two years after rupturing his right quadriceps tendon while dunking during pre-game warmups.
- More Sports Headlines
-
Denver's Largest-Ever Drug Bust Nets Dozens
Marines: No Punishment for Nazi-like Flag
Vets Look to Translate Military Skills Into Jobs
Expert: Removing LA School's Staff 'Appropriate'
Raw Video: School Bus Burst Into Flames
LA School Reopens Amid Sex Abuse Scandal
$25B Settlement Reached Over Foreclosure Abuses
Pentagon: Allow Women Closer to Front Lines
Obama Gives Education Waivers to 10 States
Giffords Aide to Run for Her Seat
LA School in Sex Abuse Scandal Reopens
Winter Slamming North Asia, Parts of Europe
Syrian Forces Renew Bombardment of Homs
States, Banks Reach Foreclosure-abuse Settlement
Raw Video: Italy's Mount Etna Bursts Into Life
Greeks March; Angry Despite Debt Deal
Raw Video: U.S. Pullout Celebration
Raw Video: Annual Empire State Building Run-Up
Man Killed in Courthouse Shootout
Air Force Airlines: Leaders Get Polished Service
