Hicks leaves Port Clinton to pursue Terra State opening

PORT CLINTON — Port Clinton is in the market for a new boys basketball coach less than three months before practice begins for the 2023-24 season. Ryan Hicks met with the Redskins on Thursday afternoon and told his team he was resigning as head coach. Hicks, a PC legend who as a player led the Redskins to a Division II state runner-up finish in 2010, coached four years at his alma mater. Hicks plans to pursue a job as an assistant men's basketball coach at Terra State Community College in Fremont. He thanked the Port Clinton administration, which gave Hicks his first head coaching job at a young age. "It was difficult to give up the (PC) head coaching job; I loved every second of it," Hicks said. "They took a chance on me. Without them taking that chance I wouldn't be in this position now. I'm really thankful for them, but I gotta take a step forward and get out of my comfort zone." Terra State hired a new men's basketball head coach, Christopher Weakley, last month. Weakley was previously the coach at Toledo Scott, a team that lost 67-62 in overtime to Port Clinton in a sectional final last season. Hicks said the move came together in the past week. "It happened quickly; it was too good of an opportunity," he said. "I wanted to get my feet wet at the college level. I's something I've always thought about doing." Hicks, 31, is getting married in November to Alicia Mason, who grew up in an athletic family in Michigan. Mason's cousin is an assistant for Dennis Hopson at Lourdes University and told Weakley that Hicks would be a good addition to his first staff at Terra. "This was a good fit and it worked out," said Hicks, who lives in Sylvania in suburban Toledo and works at Toft's in Sandusky. Hicks, who led the 2009-10 team to a 26-1 record, will be inducted into the PCHS Athletic Hall of Fame in September. He played college basketball at Defiance. "I feel I understand the college game pretty well," he said. "It's more fast-paced and a different game with the shot clock. It'll be fun to be the assistant and learn." PC won Division II sectional championships in Hicks' final two seasons with the Redskins. "I am certainly disappointed that we are losing Coach Hicks, but I understand and support his decision," PC athletic director Rick Dominick said. "Ryan has done a great deal for Port Clinton boys basketball. "They sought out Ryan and he certainly wanted to listen. I think he has some personal goals and this (move) might align with those." Dominick, who spoke with Hicks on Wednesday night about the move, said he was "a little surprised by the timing." "If I said August 10 wasn't a bit concerning, I'd be lying," Dominick said. "But we'll put together a gameplan and execute it." The job will be posted internally for 10 days. PC has a stable staff with assistants Jared Rhode and Tory Horne, as well as veteran Don Drusbacky. "I think both (Rhode and Horne) will be involved and Don has been with the program for 50 years," Dominick said. Dominick talked to the basketball players after Hicks' announcement Thursday afternoon. "Obviously we have their best interests in mind," Dominick said. "This is not an ideal situation for the seniors. They mean a lot to us." The OHSAA mandates a no-contact period for coaching in the month of August. Dominick wants to have a new coach in place by the end of this month. "Moving forward, we have the best interests of our students-athletes in mind, especially the senior members of our boys basketball program," Dominick said. "We will post the position internally (Friday). I am very hopeful we will have a head coach by the end of August." The timing of his departure was not lost on Hicks. He mentioned that he's been training PC senior Jackson Beasley since Beasley was in the fourth grade. "To leave before his senior year was one of the things that made it difficult, for sure," Hicks said. "I definitely feel bad about the timing, but it was time to do what's best for me." Hicks' last PC team finished 14-11. "His teams always represented Port Clinton City Schools in an admirable fashion, they played the game of basketball the right way," Dominick said. "I wish Ryan all the best in the years to come."