Democrat’s girls coach of year resigns

John Curry, the 2008 Sedalia Democrat girls basketball coach of the year, submitted his resignation  Monday night at the Smithton school board meeting.

In his only year at Smithton, Curry led the Tigers to a 26-3 record and the program’s first trip to the state quarterfinals.

The Tigers won the Kaysinger Conference regular-season and tournament championships. They won the Tipton and Otterville tournaments.

Their losses came against teams that won district championships: Skyline, Crest Ridge and Westran.

Skyline won the Class 3 state title, and Westran finished second in Class 2. Crest Ridge went unbeaten in the regular season.

Smithton  beat Tipton 65-45 to win the Class 2, District 7, championship, beat Concordia 41-28 in a sectional playoff and lost 66-57 to Westran in the quarterfinals.

Superintendent Andy Henley said that Curry wanted to pursue other interests.

Attempts to reach Curry on Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

The district is taking applications and wants to fill the opening as soon as possible.

“We’re looking to try to fill the teaching and coaching positions with one unit,” Henley said.

Curry taught health and physical education classes in addition to his coaching duties.