Harkness, Crabtree promoted to head coaching roles at Perkins

Chris Harkness finally thought it was time. The former long-time Norwalk girls basketball assistant coach spent the last two seasons as an assistant at Perkins under Leia Lyden. When Lyden stepped down as head coach in early March, Harkness gave it some thought before applying. The Pirates made it official Wednesday at their board of education meeting, naming Harkness the new head girls basketball coach. "I've been in the system for a long time with different programs," Harkness said. "When this opportunity made itself aware, I said maybe it was time. Why not give it another shot before stepping away? I'm excited about the opportunity because I felt like I had a good relationship with the girls. "Them having three coaches in four years isn't exact their fault." Lyden was 16-31 in her two seasons as coach at Perkins. The Pirates were 5-18 this past season. "The program was prominent awhile ago, but we had a down year last year," Harkness said. "I don't want that to reflect on what we have coming back. I'm happy to get back on the floor with these girls specifically. They are awesome and good kids. They are respectful and good listeners. "We had a string of bad luck with injuries, but I look forward to what we can do this season." Harkness, a 1985 Norwalk graduate who is in the school's hall of fame for his football achievements, has doubled as an area basketball official. Harkness said he has been a referee for 27 years, but the time needed to devote to being a head coach will likely keep him from officiating. "We thought Chris stood out to our search committee," Perkins athletic director Brad Watson said. "He values relationships and we think he is going to be a good fit for our program and student-athletes. He's a great guy and we are looking forward to having him as the head coach." Perkins had just one senior this past season, Jalee Lipsey. The Pirates will compete in the Lake Division of the newly formed Northern Ohio Conference next season. "On paper, we should have everybody back," Harkness said. "I know I need to talk to some of them. I want to get to the table with some of the girls that didn't come out last year. We had some injuries and low numbers. My key thing is retention and getting those other girls out." During the day, Harkness is self-employed at a kitchen exhaust and hood cleaning company. He is also the COO of a behavioral health company. Harkness said the plans for a staff are in the works. He expects his daughter, Kaelyn, who coached Perkins' JV team last season, to remain on board. "I know there will be more administrative responsibilities as a head coach," Harkness said. "I don't think that will change what I've always done. I've always had responsibilities everywhere I was. That responsibility was given to me by the head coach." Crabtree named wrestling coach Drew Crabtree has been around the Perkins wrestling program since he was two years old. His dad, Travis Crabtree, was head coach of the Pirates for 25 years. When Travis stepped down as coach after this past season, Drew wanted to take the reins. He was given those keys Wednesday at the board of education meeting, being named head coach the wrestling team. "After I was done competing and starting coaching, it was always on my mind that I wanted to be the head coach one day," Drew said. "I had to prove myself and earn it. I think I've done that over the last six years. "My dad and I had conversations that when he was ready to step down and retire, I'd have opportunity to be the head coach. We talked about it last year at the end of the season that this past season was going to be his last one." Travis Crabtree won 333 duals across his career, coaching three state champions. Now, Drew will get the chance to put his stamp on the Pirates' tradition-rich program. "I'm super excited," Drew said. "Since 2018 after I stopped competing, every big and important decision I've made in my life was would it set me up to teach at Perkins and be the head coach? "The No. 1 thing in every decision I made was for it to put me in the best possible position to be a coach and teach at Perkins." Drew teaches special education at Furry Elementary in the Perkins school district. Drew was an assistant coach under his father for the past several seasons. He knows he had a great mentor to learn from in his dad. "I couldn't have asked for someone better to learn from," said Drew of his dad. "I've been around a lot of great coaches from area schools and coaches on our staff. We have a really good staff at Perkins. Everyone brings something to the table." Drew said he hasn't given a ton of thought on the exact way he wants to run his program. Travis stepped down just a few weeks ago and the process was quick. "Drew really stood out in the interview process," Watson said. "It has been nice to watch him grow the last three years under his dad. He has been given more responsibility over the last three years in the program. He does a great job with the kids. "I think he's ready. He has already laid out some stuff in the interviews as far as looking ahead with schedules and kids returning. He is all in." Drew graduated from Perkins 2017 and from Bowling Green State University in 2021. Drew wanted to thank his wife, Olivia, as well as friends, family and administration for all the support. "I know it will be a big transition from an assistant coach to head coach," he said. "There's more paperwork. As a head coach, you are responsible for everything. I'm ready for that. I've been the head coach of our biddy program for the last three or four years. That's kind of been a smaller role to prepare for me for this. "Perkins has a rich tradition. There haven't been a lot of head coaches at Perkins. That speaks volumes to the guys before me."