SMCC hires Youskievicz as girls basketball coach

SANDUSKY — St. Mary Central Catholic named Kevin Youskievicz as its new girls basketball coach on Thursday. Youskievicz is a 1985 SMCC graduate and has previously coached at the junior high level in Sandusky Central Catholic Schools for 13 years. He's also coached the high school track team. "I am honored to be selected to lead the girls basketball program at SMCC," Youskievicz said in a news release. "I miss coaching basketball and this is another way for me to give back to my alma mater. I thank athletic director Steve Ruthsatz, the search committee and the administration for giving me this opportunity. "I'm looking to build a strong culture of competitiveness within the girls basketball program, and that starts with fundamentals being instilled at the biddy level. Successful programs are built on a solid foundation of fundamentals, discipline and consistency, and that's what I hope to bring to SMCC girls basketball." Bobby Gossom stepped down as coach at the end of winless 2023-24 season. Youskievicz's last basketball coaching job was in 2021-22 when he coached the SCCS eighth-grade team to a 15-3 record and a share of the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division regular season championship and the SBC River tournament title. For four seasons from 2014-17, Youskievicz served as head coach of SMCC's boys and girls track and field programs. The SMCC boys placed third in the state in Division III in 2016 while the girls claimed an SBC River League championship in 2015. "We are extremely excited and very fortunate to have Coach Youskievicz take over leadership of our girls basketball program," SMCC athletic director Steve Ruthsatz said. "We had a larger pool of applicants than the two previous searches we've had for this position and Kevin seems to be the right fit at this time. "Kevin has coached at our school for many years and has had some really good student-athletes and teams. He has won championships here and I truly believe that Kevin will be a great leader and do a fantastic job with our girls basketball program." Outside of coaching, Youskievicz is a longtime supporter of Sandusky Central Catholic and its athletic programs. He has served as president of the Central Catholic Athletic Boosters and is a current member of the SMCC Athletic and Achievement Hall of Fame Committee. Youskievicz was a two-time varsity letterman in basketball at SMCC for teams that went a combined 33-12 over his junior and senior years. During his senior season in 1984-85, while playing with Ruthsatz, the Panthers set single-season school records for points per game (82.4), scoring margin per game (21.1) and field goal percentage (54.6). Youskievicz also lettered in track and field for the Panthers. Youskievicz began working with the City of Sandusky Police Department in 1993 and retired as a detective sergeant in June 2021. He currently serves in a part-time role with the SPD. After receiving his Bachelor of Science in business administration from Otterbein University, Youskievicz graduated from the Sandusky Police Academy in 1993. He later took classes at Ohio State University's John Glenn College of Public Affairs. Youskievicz is married to Julie (Ritzenthaler) Youskievicz, who was a senior basketball player on the Panthers' 1984 SBC girls championship team. They have two children who are former student-athletes and alumni of SMCC: Joseph (2012) and Alyson (2016).