Chuck Shuman is scheduled to take over the Ellet football team as head coach after a long run as an Orangemen assistant to Joe Yost.
Akron Public Schools Athletic Director Joe Vassalotti said Tuesday that Shuman has been selected for the position, pending board approval May 22.
“I am looking forward to this opportunity,” said Shuman, who turned 68 on April 11. “My No. 1 desire was to continue to be a football coach at Ellet after Joe resigned. I really didn’t know what was going to take place, so I thought being the head coach was the best opportunity to make sure I would be coaching at Ellet because I want to help keep things going well here.”
Shuman graduated from East High School in 1967 and earned degrees from the University of Akron in 1971 and 1976. He played football, basketball and baseball at East, played football at UA, and credits former coaches Dom Patella and Gordon Larson for being mentors he admired.
Shuman was an assistant under Yost from 1981-2016. Before that, he served as an assistant at East from 1978-1980, at Firestone from 1972-1977 and at East in 1971.
“There will be quite a few familiar faces on the staff,” Shuman said. “I don’t know exactly how many at this time, but I reached out to each one of our coaches.
“And also I would like to get some outside coaches outside of our nucleus just because it is nice to have a different voice. Sometimes when you are with people a long time, someone on the outside can really open your eyes to something that is right in front of you that you don’t see. I want to keep continuity with the Ellet program first and foremost.”
Shuman has led the Ellet softball team from 1985 to the present, and has a 611-234 record. Ellet won the 1996 Division I state championship, was a state runner-up in 1995 and a state semifinalist in 1997. Ellet has also won nine district titles, 23 sectional crowns, 27 City Series regular season titles and 26 league postseason crowns.
“This was a very difficult interview process because we had a lot of good candidates,” Vassalotti said. “We felt with Chuck’s longtime service and experience as an assistant football coach in a successful program, and his successful head coaching experience in softball for so many years that he was the best candidate.”
Vassalotti said there were 13 applicants for the job, and six were interviewed. He said Shuman’s age was not an issue because of his “passion for coaching and energy level.”
Said Shuman: “I haven’t put a limit on coaching. I know it will not be 38 years like Joe. As long as I am having fun and as long as I think that the program is moving forward, I will continue to coach.”
Shuman taught for 36 years in APS and then retired after the 2007-2008 school year.
Yost, 64, compiled a record of 234-152-2 as football coach from 1979-2016, and led Ellet to playoff appearances in Division I in 1991 and in Division II in 2012 and 2013.
Shuman was a member of the Ellet coaching staff during the three playoff seasons, and also was with the program for outright City Series football championships in 2012 and 2013 and shared league titles in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1995, 2006 and 2016.
Michael Beaven can be reached at 330-996-3829 or mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the #ABJVarsity high school blog at www.ohio.com/preps. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MBeavenABJ.