Fox stepping down after 10 years at Hubbard

February 21, 2015 at 12:06a.m.

Eighteen years after “Coach” went off the air, Hubbard High’s boys basketball coach is ready to start watching Hayden Fox again.

With his son, Hayden, set to enter seventh grade next year, Rick Fox has decided to step down at the end of this season, his 10th with the team.

“I always told my wife that once he starts playing, I’m not going to miss his games,” said Fox, who named his son after the main character from the TV series. “Varsity coaching just takes so much time and it doesn’t feel right to be practicing in the gym when he’s playing.”

Fox is 90-120 at Hubbard, including a 1-15 mark this season. He had his best season in 2008-09 when senior Sam Bellino and junior Kurtis Drummond led the the Eagles to a 15-8 mark.

“I think probably my best memory was when we beat Poland at Hubbard that year,” he said. “I think that was the first time any local team had beaten Poland in two years, so it was a really nice win.”

Fox said he’s going to miss interacting with his players — “It’s fun to see kids come back to our open gyms and run with the new kids” — and spending time with other coaches.

“You develop a lot of friendships with other coaches,” he said. “We were just at the tournament draw and it was great to talk to the coaches there.

That’s the kind of stuff that I’m going to miss.”

Fox isn’t sure who will replace him at Hubbard but he’s hoping his longtime junior varsity coach, Justin Townsend, gets the job.

“He’s been with me for 10 years and he’s had opportunities to go elsewhere, but he’s hung in there with me,” Fox said. “Hopefully he gets an opportunity.”