Girls basketball: Nicholas Dimacchia moving on at Clearview

After 18 seasons and 166 wins, Nicholas Dimacchia has been a familiar face on the bench for the Clearview girls basketball program. Now the Clippers will have to sail in another direction. Dimacchia announced Wednesday that he will no longer be coaching at the school where he has spent the last 31 years in various coaching roles. "It's one of those things where I've been around a long time, I'm a veteran and I feel like they want to move in a different direction with some younger blood," Dimacchia said. "I don't think I'm quite ready to be done coaching, but its time to move on from Clearview. I just want to try to finish out my school year and stay focused."For many years, Dimacchia's teams were among the best in the Patriot Athletic Conference Stripes Division but in recent years the program has fallen on hard times. Since All-Ohio first-team guard Brooke Rebman graduated in 2021, the Clippers haven't finished better than sixth in the Lorain County League and finished with a 4-16 record in 2025-26. Dimacchia said Rebman's four seasons and the 2018 district semifinal team were among his favorite memories. "The year that we won the sectional championship in 2018, that was a great group of girls," Dimacchia said. "We won that sectional championship in a tight game with Buckeye. That was a fun game."I'd be remiss if I didn't say the four years I got to coach Brooke Rebman were pretty phenomenal years. Having the opportunity to coach a special player like that is a lot of fun. Brooke was a special person to watch play basketball."Dimacchia was part of a group of coaches at Clearview, including former boys basketball coach John Szalay and former football coach Mike Collier, who spent most if not all of their careers at the school. "I'm blessed to have been able to work with a crew of people like that and you can go all the way back to (former football coach and athletic director) Dan Parent's days," Dimacchia said. "When I started at Clearview, I coached under Coach Szalay. John was one of the kindest, best coaches you ever want to meet. For the longest time I felt Clearview was very connected and everyone supported each other. I feel like over the years as you lose these older people and you get a new administration in, it kinda changes the direction you've moving as a coach."Dimacchia said he isn't sure where, or if, he'll be coaching next year. But he'll always fondly remember the time he spent at Clearview. "When you have 18 years, that's a pretty good run as a head coach," Dimacchia said. "It's kind of bittersweet. I've spent my entire career coaching at Clearview and next year I won't be doing that. I've got to figure out what I'm going to do with my free time."Contact Todd Shapiro at (440) 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.