Coach Ryan Carter retires with Clyde memories, achievements to cherish

5 days ago 2

Ryan Carter wasn't going to cry.

Many people in Clyde are likely emotional this week after Carter announced his resignation as Fliers varsity football coach. Carter occupied the helm for 13 years and captured a state championship.

He made it through talking about the football and the special sauce he brought to the program and even the community. Then, however, he remembered his favorite anecdote.

"Nick Webb was one of our best players," Carter said. "We're in the (state) semifinal against Wyoming. We'd been running a formation and play we hurt them with and they never adjusted. Nick was getting 10 or 15 yards a pop.

"We got near the end zone and during a timeout I called 'weakside power.' Nick stopped me. 'Run Gunner (Golden); I'll block. Run iso.' Gunner had three touchdowns already. Gunner didn't need another. This was to go to (the final).

"(Webb) could have scored a touchdown. (Small sniffle) It meant more for him, his teammate got to score."

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Carter characterized that state championship team in 2019 as the most selfless group he coached. They took the crown as the eighth and final seed after a 6-4 finish to the regular season.

"I've had some phenomenal football players, some who went to the next level who played unbelievable football for me," he said. "We had a culture of kids who believed in what we were doing and they showed up. In my mind, those were the best players I coached.

"The success we had — obviously, 2019 is the highest point — throughout my career, we won games and we won championships with Clyde and Green Springs kids who grew up in our program. That's saying something."

Coach Ryan Carter celebrates a Clyde victory.

Loyalty is important to Carter.

"I remember talking to my first basketball staff and my first football staff in 2013," Carter said. "If the kids in the community are loyal to their town and the program and they're committed to what's best for the entire program, (good things will happen)."

So, why is this the time for Carter, who is 49, to step away? His love for the sport will never wane, but the "(coaching) profession has some major issues."

"It was never going to be the right time or the right group," he said. "I told (them), 'This has nothing to do with you.' That's hard to explain to kids. To ever say it was the right time, it just hit me. The pressures on a coach from the outside; the noise got too loud.

"All the things that weren't coaching, they started to weigh on me. The people I worked with and my administration was the best I could have worked for. It never was going to be the perfect moment."

Coach Ryan Carter gathers with his family after earning a state championship.

He intends to finish his career as a teacher at Clyde as well.

"I grew up in Clyde, born and raised," he said. "I went to high school. I left for a short time to college and played (football). I was fortunate to come back and coach in my home town around people I knew my whole life. I couldn't have asked for more."

Carter was 108-46 at Clyde and the Fliers never missed the postseason. He is one of two coaches in state history with more than 100 wins for football and basketball (151) and he's Clyde's all-time leader for both.

"My first group in 2013, I was trying to figure it out and we go to Bowling Green and play (Toledo) Central Catholic," he said. "They're projected to beat us by 50 with DeShone Kizer. We believed and we won by one point and we moved on to the final four.

"Those are special, but every year is special. This year, we had our worst record. But we worked to get into the playoffs and then we lost in overtime. Practice and time with the kids off the field is way more important than wins and losses."

Carter took a lot of his own template from his coaches when he was an athlete at Clyde. He graduated in 1995.

"My dad (Michael Carter Jr.) was my first coach," he said. "He coached me for all the biddy. When I got to high school, I had the three best coaches Clyde has ever had. Bob Bishop for football. He did more for the high school than anybody could ever know.

"Marc Marshall for basketball. We went to the state semifinals. The only time. We played in the state championship game for football (that fall). The first time in the postseason. Doug Ottney was my coach for baseball. I had three mentors who taught me what coaching was all about and player relationships that I tried to carry over to my kids.

"Those three are why I coached."

Many of Carter's former players feel a similar way about Carter, who isn't afraid to push kids toward their potential.

"He taught us all much more than the game of football and taught us valuable life lessons within the game that myself and many others will cherish throughout our lives," Golden said. "I can't express the level of gratitude I have for Coach Carter.

"I am lucky to be coached by one of Ohio's greatest coaches ever. I can only hope to be half the coach he was someday. The community of Clyde is going to miss him on Friday nights. I wish him nothing but peace and for him to spend time with his family as he closes his coaching chapter."

mhorn@gannett.com

419-307-4892

X: @MatthewHornNH

This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Ryan Carter retires as Clyde OHSAA football coach

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