Behney resigns as Clyde girls basketball coach

After two seasons and an overall record of 19-28, Blayze Behney has stepped down as head girls basketball coach at Clyde. The Fliers were 11-13 this past season, losing to Shelby in a district semifinal. In Behney's first season in 2023-2024, Clyde was 8-15. Behney is a 2007 graduate of Clyde. "What led to me stepping down was trying to find that balance between home life and work life and managing all of that together," Behney said. "It was consuming a lot of time and a lot of my mental health. Right now, I wanted someone else to step in and continue to build the program. It's moving in the right direction. I was losing energy a little bit. I want to step away and balance that. "My kids and wife were almost off to the side. I want to step back and see where not coaching will help out. It was taking a toll mentally and physically." Clyde athletic director Ryan Greenslade said the position has been posted and applications will be taken until July 15. This week is considered a dead period where coaches don't contact athletes. "If there was good timing, he got us through June, which is a designated month for winter sports," Greenslade said. "July 1, we start focusing on fall sports. We limit winter coaches being hands on with kids, so those kids can focus on fall sports. We can start getting healthy in some cases. He left the program where we have built-in time." Greenslade said once July 15 rolls around, interviews will be scheduled. The hope is to have someone ready to hire at the board of education meeting July 28. "Coaching is demanding," Greenslade said. "Coaching isn't what it was 30 years ago. It's hard to balance the work and home life. I fully respect coaches when they know that they need to take care of themselves and their family first." Behney previously coached in the boys basketball program for seven seasons. He didn't rule out returning to the sidelines in the future. "I still have the itch to coach," Behney said. "Being a head coach and being an assistant coach are two different animals. I love being a head coach, but it demands time. This is more of a thing for me to press pause. I think even a little bit of my OCD was causing stress and anxiety when it really wasn't needed. I wanted things to be done really well because I cared about the program and the girls. "Coaching again is not out of the question. I'm proud of what we did in our two years. I just don't think I can give the energy for it to be successful right now." Whoever takes over for Behney will have a nice roster of talent returning. The Fliers return senior Reese Daniel, juniors Annmarie Davis, Kelsey Ray, Kenzlie Guhn, Marissa Frische and Taitum Jeffrey and sophomores Ember Andres and Ariah Farrar. Jeffrey led last year's team with 15.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while Guhn added 8.6 points a night. "I have no bad words about coaching. I loved it," Behney said. "It was something I wanted to try and I bet on myself. The relationships I built won't go away. I still teach at the high school. I'll just be cheering from a different perspective. "We started something new. The habits have been built. I think the girls are going to make that turn."