Boys Basketball: Josh Scharf out as Columbia coach after five seasons

Josh Scharf had five winning season in five years at Columbia. He won't have the opportunity to make it 6-for-6. Scharf, who had a career record of 72-46, won't be brought back. He was informed of the decision after the season by athletic director Jason Ward."We had our end of the year review. I met with Jason. He thought there were some issues that couldn't be resolved," Scharf said. "It basically comes down to the makeup of my staff and our coaching philosophy. He didn't think that was aligned with the direction he wanted the program to go in."Secondarily he thought the lack of seniors was really a big issue."The Raiders finished the year 13-11 and tied for fifth place in the the Lorain County League, Columbia's worst league finish in Scharf's tenure. "Our conference record was not great this year and I think that was part of the issue," Scharf said. "If the ball bounces a different way once or twice in about three or four of those games, things would have been different."Columbia played some of its best basketball late in the season, winning four of its last six regular-season games and a sectional final over East Canton before falling to No. 2 seed Grand Valley in double overtime in the Division Vi district semifinals. "The guys bought in, played for each other and left everything on the floor that night," Scharf said. "We were one bucket away in the fourth quarter from playing for a district title and we'd have been favorites in that final game."Scharf, the 2021-22 Lorain County League Coach of the Year, let the players know of his dismissal in a private group text, then posted a statement on the social media platform X from the Columbia basketball account announcing he had been "fired." Scharf lauded the team's efforts over the course of the season and asked the players to: "Support the next coach. Stay united. Hold each other accountable. Don't let the standard slip," before professing his love for them. Scharf ended the post with, "Once you've been a part of this program, that never leaves you — and it won't leave me either."One the things Scharf is most proud of was how the team performed in the classroom and as young men. "We had no discipline issues, our team GPA this year was 3.85. I'm proud of the culture we built, the brotherhood and togetherness that they all played for," Scharf said. He was adamant this isn't the end of his coaching journey. "I will be coaching next year," Scharf said. "I have already had some preliminary discussions so I will absolutely be coaching next year. Where is to be determined, but it's a certainty I will be coaching."Ward, in a statement, expressed his best wishes on behalf of the Columbia administration as Scharf begins the next chapter of his coaching career."We appreciate Coach Scharf's contributions to Columbia boys basketball and wish him the best moving forward," said Ward, the former football coach. While Scharf will be wearing different colors next winter, he expects Columbia, which looks to return seven seniors, including Division Vi second-team all-district selections Logan Menge and Dylan Fisher, to do great things. "I think that team next year is going to be phenomenal," Scharf said. "That team is stacked and loaded. I'm proud of the position I left that program in, they should win a district title and they should win conference next year."Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.