Mineral Ridge hires Shaner as head football coach
Brian Shaner also directed Youngstown
City Schools programs at Rayen, East
By Steve Ruman
MINERAL RIDGE
Brian Shaner was determined to get back into the head coaching ranks.
The search committee assigned to find the next Mineral Ridge High football coach was determined to find an enthusiastic, experienced coach eager to pump life into the program.
Shaner and the search committee both were granted their wishes Tuesday evening when the Weathersfield Board of Education approved the hiring of Shaner as the Rams’ coach.
Shaner replaces Steve Wyllie, who was placed on administrative leave in mid-September for a personal matter. Wyllie had coached the team since the beginning of the 2016 season.
“We were looking for someone with experience, and of more importance we were looking for someone with a lot of enthusiasm, someone who could come in here and give our kids a reason to want to be a part of Mineral Ridge football,” said Weathersfield Superintendent Damon Dohar. “Our numbers are way down, and there are a lot of reasons for that. But there are also a lot of reasons why kids should be excited about wearing a Rams uniform.
“We think Brian can convey that message to the student body.”
Shaner was selected among 16 applicants.
“Brian has a history of being able to create excitement and build up programs,” Dohar said. “What really stood out was that he was held in very high regards with everyone we spoke to. He is highly respected with those who he has worked with and worked for in the past.”
Shaner brings 15 years of head coaching experience to Mineral Ridge. He served as a head coach with the Youngstown City School District for nine years, beginning in 2003. He logged back-to-back 7-3 seasons at Rayen in 2004 and 2005. When Rayen closed its doors at the end of the 2006-07 school year, Shaner took over the East High program. His Panthers went 8-2 in 2007. He posted a 44-46 record in Youngstown.
Shaner then coached at Niles for six years, with a record of 24-37. His first year at Niles in 2012 included an 8-3 season, and a trip to the playoffs — just the fourth post-season appearance in school history.
He spend the 2018 season as an assistant coach at Western Reserve.
“I have followed the Mineral Ridge program closely ever since my days at Rayen when we used to come here to practice with, and scrimmage the Rams,” Shaner said. “I’ve always had close ties to the program.
“Mineral Ridge has always had hard-nosed kids who love to learn, who love to play the game. This place has the facilities, a nice field, a track, a good size weight room. It has the backing of the community. It has everything in place that you need to build a solid program.”
Shaner echoed the comments made by Dohar acknowledging that his first order of business will be to build the program’s numbers. Mineral Ridge finished the ‘18 campaign with less than 20 players on its roster.
“We need to show these kids that we’re going to play good, fundamentally-sound football, and we’re going to have fun doing it, “Shaner said. “We’ll work our butts off, but football should be a fun experience.
“We need to get in the school and get anyone and everyone who has an interest in this sport to be a part of our program.”
While at Niles, Shaner’s offenses routinely set school records while setting the scoring pace in the Mahoning Valley. Shaner hopes to bring the same up-tempo style to Mineral Ridge.
“We want to get as many players touching the ball as possible, we want introduce an entirely new style of football,” Shaner said. “Of course, our personnel and numbers will dictate what we can do. Our style will wear a team down if most of the players have to go both ways. That’s why we need numbers.”
Shaner said he has already begun the process of compiling his coaching staff.