Lars Hovey, who originated the baseball program at Hailey's Wood River High School in 1992, resigned his head baseball coaching job Monday after 14 years at the helm.
His resignation was unexpected, and Hovey said the current Wood River fall baseball program that has attracted 14 players is currently "on hold."
Wood River High athletic director Ron Martinez said, "It kind of hit us by surprise. Our plan is to open the position up and find out what applicants there are out there. I don't have a clue who they are. I do know Lars handed in his resignation Monday, I took it over to the district office and the superintendent accepted it."
Many questions about the future of Wood River baseball came into play with Monday's resignation, since Hovey and longtime assistant coach Larry Lloyd were intricately involved in all aspects of the program, from scheduling to field development and maintenance.
Said Hovey, "We've given the community a program and facility (Founders Field) that they can be proud of. Maybe it's healthy now to have a change of guard."
Hovey said his resignation stemmed from a Friday meeting of all Wood River High athletic coaches during which Dr. Jim Lewis, superintendent of schools, outlined new policy measures dealing with athletes who play sports out of season.
Lewis emphasized that coaches need to cooperate more and share athletes, Hovey said. The mandates he outlined weren't consistent "with my personal views of what we need to do with baseball," said Hovey.
There had been some acrimony between Wood River's new football coach Mike Glenn and Hovey about the fall baseball program, which Glenn felt was taking players away from the football team. Glenn had expected a better turnout than the 40 players he welcomed.
After Friday's coaches' meeting with Lewis, Hovey and Lloyd met privately with the superintendent. Hovey said, "We talked about how the mandates affect us and also about facility issues."
There was a subsequent meeting Friday between Lewis and Wood River Baseball Association president Jeff Lubeck.
Hovey said he had contemplated a change for some time. He suggested the timing of his resignation could have been better, for instance, following the baseball season so the school district could plan better for a transition.
"I care too much about baseball and about kids in general, so I will try to make it a smooth transition," Hovey said. "I really have mixed emotions about it—but I'm not going to miss those blustery 30-degree days in Burley."
Hovey, 42, a 1981 Twin Falls High School graduate, has worked as a health and physical education teacher for the Blaine County School District for 17 years. The Hailey resident and father of two intends to keep his teaching job. He said he has no intention of pursuing another coaching job.
As Wood River baseball coach Hovey had a 227-168-1 record including a State 3A championship in 2003.
His Wolverine teams had a 35-2 homefield record from 2002-05. Last season Wood River had nine seniors and went 20-9—barely missing a seventh straight trip to the state tournament. The Wolverines won their 10th regular-season league pennant in 14 years, and their fifth straight.
