Durkin to step down as hoops coach
Sean Durkin
By Joe Scalzo
YOUNGSTOWN
Twenty-two years ago, a 19-year-old Ursuline graduate named Sean Durkin started coaching basketball and never really stopped.
Until Thursday.
Durkin, the longtime Irish girls basketball coach, made official Thursday what he’s been thinking about for months, informing his players in what he called “a very hard day for me.”
“To say it out loud was not real easy,” said Durkin, who got married last summer and is in his first year as the school’s athletic director. “It’s a game that I still love and I’m sure there will be some days that are very hard in the winter.
“But the passion is not there right now. It’s a direction I’ve been leaning in for awhile but I wanted to give it some time and cool off a little bit after the season and see how I felt.”
Durkin went 231-94 in 13 seasons as Ursuline’s head coach, winning a Division III state title in 2004 and finishing second in 2006.
He led the Irish to the Division III regional final this season, falling to Elyria Catholic, 50-41. Four of the team’s five starters return, including Division I prospects Courtney Powell and Aurielle Irizarry.
“I think we have some talent there and I think it’s a good time to give the next person a chance,” said Durkin. “The cupboard is not bare, so I think it will be attractive to somebody that has the ability to do a good job.”
Durkin made the decision early because he knew the next coach would need time to organize offseason open gyms and summer basketball practices. Ursuline will first open the job to candidates within the diocese, but Durkin expects the school to accept outside applications as well.
One likely candidate is first-year Irish assistant Jack Bermann, who stepped down as Mooney’s head girls basketball coach after the 2009-10 season.
“I’m not going to dictate my replacement,” Durkin said. “I play a big part in some of the other coaching decision but this one is a little too close.”
He will continue as the school’s head baseball coach, a position he’s held for 14 seasons.
“The time responsibilities are a lot less there,” Durkin said of the baseball team, which he led to a state championship in 2000. “I plan to stay on there but we’ll see what happens.
“I just started to realize that doing both of these sports back-to-back was wearing on me and my energy level wasn’t what it needed to be. I’m a little burned out and it’s time to step away and give somebody else a chance.”