FORT LORAMIE — On Friday, Aug. 11, longtime head baseball coach Bill Sturwold was notified he will not be rehired by the Fort Loramie Board of Education.
Sturwold, a 2013 inductee in the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, has been with the district for 19 years with a career record of 471-219, consisting of 14 league titles, 11 district titles, four regional titles and two state titles, and won about 70 percent of the games he coached at Fort Loramie. He said was not given a reason as to why he was not rehired.
“I have had more problems in the last two years with administrators and athletic directors than in my previous 23 years of coaching,” he said in a statement. “I would like to thank my players and previous athletic directors and administrators for their support. I would like to thank the communities of Russia and Fort Loramie for the opportunity to coach their kids. I have absolutely no regrets.”
Fort Loramie Superintendent Dan Holland would not comment on the decision, but thanked Sturwold for his service.
“We appreciate the time and effort he has put into the care of the facility and the baseball program and wish him continued success in his future endeavors,” he said. “We now turn our attention to moving forward in the process of finding a new baseball coach that will work to sustain the success of our athletic programs and the continued development of our student athletes.”
During July’s Board of Education meeting, many community members spoke in favor of rehiring Sturwold, including ex-student athletes. Many current student athletes also came to show their support. Russia’s head baseball coach, Kevin Phlipot, said during the meeting that he would miss playing against Sturwold.
“You’re foolish not to rehire him,” he said. “I want to coach against him for a long, long time.”
Although school administration and board members would not give information on why he was not rehired, speculation at the last board of education meeting ranged from his “blunt” coaching methods to accusations of him not following rules and regulations.
Sturwold said he did not currently know what his next step in coaching was.
