CLINTON —
On Monday night, the Clinton school board accepted the early retirement of longtime social studies teacher and volleyball coach Mark Massey.
“I have tremendously enjoyed my 39 years of teaching and 35 years of coaching in the Clinton School District,” Massey said. “I hope to be able to continue to serve the community and the school district in a variety of capacities.”
One of those capacities may be coaching. Despite officially retiring from the position, Massey said he had a desire to coach again in the future.
“Do I plan on coaching in the future?” he said. “I think I still may have quite a bit of coaching in me.”
Massey retires as the winningest coach in Mississippi Athletic Conference history and coached the River Queens to a victory over North Scott in the first MAC volleyball contest.
“I’ve always been appreciative of the confidence that (former athletic director) Bill Holmstrom showed in me, way back in June 1978,” Massey said. “I think that we’ve built a solid program that the community and school can be proud of since then.”
Massey became the fourth Iowa coach to reach 700 wins in 2009 and currently has 761 wins.
“I’m proud of the volleyball program and of my association with some outstanding athletes and parents,” Massey said. “I’ve been blessed with some tremendous assistant coaches. You can’t build a program without them.”
Massey said his announcement was greeted with some surprise by his students and that he had received a number of nice comments from students and staff.
“Everything usually works out for the better,” he said. Then he added with a chuckle, “Most students are probably more worried about what they’re going to have for lunch than what their social studies teacher is going to be doing a year from now.”
Massey said the original plan was to continue to teach while his children were in college and then decide what to do about volleyball. His son Evan is a graduate of Knox College and daughter Sarah is a junior at the University of Iowa.
“In late October or early November, the district floated the idea of an early retirement package,” Massey said. “I got to thinking about it and decided if I was going to retire next year, why not do it this year for a few thousand extra dollars and a free year, so to speak. I still enjoy teaching and coaching, and I think I’ve done a pretty decent job at both. ... It seemed like a good time to do it.”
High School Sports
Related Photos
-
Mark Massey, shown leading his Clinton High School volleyball team onto the court during a match this season, is taking early retirement. He has won more than 700 matches in his coaching career at Clinton. Jon Gremmels/Clinton Herald
Discussion
January 15, 2013
CHS’s Massey retiring
- High School Sports
-
-
Queens nearly nip Wildcats
CLINTON -- In every conceivable way, there was seemingly no chance Clinton would bounce back from a 12-0 opening loss to Davenport North in Mondya's doubleheader. The first game lasted less than an hour; the Wildcats cranked two home runs in one inni
-
River Kings dump Midland
Clinton's baseball team got back on the winning track Friday, beating Midland 8-1.
- River Bend hires new girls coach FULTON, Ill. -- The River Bend school district has hired a new varsity girls' basketball coach for the 2013-2014 school year. School board members approved the employment of Mike Menchaca for the head coaching position Monday at a special education m
-
Coach Tyler Howe's professional career ended abruptly, teaching him -- and his players -- to take nothing for granted
GOOSE LAKE -- This game -- whether by a walk-off homer or a game-ending strikeout -- can end in the blink of an eye. True to life. A minor leaguer with the New York Mets franchise, Tyler Howe's career was on the rise in spring 2010. A 2008 draft pick
- Irish lack offense as Lisbon sweeps CLINTON -- Monday night's baseball doubleheader between Prince of Peace and Lisbon was a slow buildup on offense, but the Lions produced more in each game and came away with an 11-3, 10-0 sweep at Ashford University Field. Neither team went down in
-
Bulldogs score big over Clinton
CLINTON -- A deep Bettendorf lineup was on display Monday night in Clinton. During Game 2 of the Mississippi Athletic Conference softball doubleheader between the Bulldogs and River Queens, a 10-run fifth inning was punctuated by a Sarah Kennedy gran
-
VIDEOS: Girls tennis team, Rasche honored by school board
The Clinton High School girls tennis team was honored Monday night by the Clinton School Board for its recent state championship win.
-
Home runs give Kings a split
BETTENDORF -- Cody Collender doesn't head to the plate thinking home run. But, he certainly doesn't mind enjoying them. Collender hit a pair of homers in the second game Monday, including a go-ahead three-run shot in a six-run third inning, as Clinto
- Rebels fall in 7th to Clinton CLINTON -- Clinton and Northeast took a tie game to the seventh inning, 3-3, Saturday afternoon in high school baseball. But, with three home runs, the River Kings put the game out of reach on a six-run final inning, winning 9-3. Cody Collender, Nath
- Northeast back to its winning ways CALAMUS -- Northeast got back to its winning ways Saturday, taking three games in an eight-team softball tournament hosted by Calamus-Wheatland. The event also featured Camanche and Bellevue, both teams earning a win. After falling to 5-5 earlier in
- More High School Sports Headlines
-
