High school soccer: Simon Spelling steps down as Medina boys coach

MEDINA — The greatest eight-year run by a Medina County soccer coach ended Monday afternoon when Simon Spelling gathered his Medina boys team and announced he was stepping down as head coach. "It's just time," Spelling said. "I'm going to go do other things. Coaching Medina is a full-time job. I want to do some other things. It's very hard to step away. Soccer is a very large part of my life and coaching here has been the highlight of my career, but it's time." What Spelling did for the program in his second stint was nothing short of incredible. Spelling is the only county coach to lead a team to a state title (2018). He also put the Bees in the championship game twice (2017, 2018). Medina went to five consecutive Division I state semifinals beginning in 2016 and only lost a district title in his first season, 2014. That means district has gone through Medina seven seasons in a row. Spelling had an All-Ohioan every year and finished with 10 all-state selections and three All-Americans so far. The 2021 team has not been announced. Spelling has a 207-54-25 (.767) overall record, including 122-17-14 (.843) with a 39-7-5 (.776) league record that included five titles during the second stint. This season, the Bees went 15-6, 4-1. They won their fourth straight Greater Cleveland Conference title and bowed out to eventual state champion St. Ignatius in the regional finals. "Year in and year out, Medina boys soccer is at the top of the list of programs in the state of Ohio," Medina athletic director Todd Hodkey said. "Simon has been able to take a team at the beginning of the season and mold it into the type of team it needs to be in order to make those long tournament runs. He just knows what buttons to push and motivate the boys to become champions." The ability never went unnoticed, as Spelling was the Greater Akron Scholastic Soccer Coach of the Year twice, state coach of the year once and Gazette Coach of the Year seven times since 2014. Spelling, 61, has also been named The Gazette Fall Coach of the Year four times. No other county has won that award twice. Spelling also was Gazette Coach of the Decade and mentored the player of the decade in Parker Csiszar, who also was the 2019 OSSCA D-I Player of the Year. "I've been a fortunate beneficiary of the hard work of the parents and players for the past 15 years, from the time they started playing rec soccer and club soccer," Spelling said. "All their hard work has paid off up here. I didn't kick a ball. I didn't make a save. I didn't take a shot or score a goal. All the work has been their doing, and they've done a great job." Hodkey will not rush to hire a successor. "I don't ever think you'll replace a Simon Spelling," Hodkey said. "But with the youth program and the success we've had in the past, whoever is the next head coach for this program will have the pieces in place to continue that success. The process will be the same as it normally has been in the past. We're going to take our time and do the appropriate due diligence to find the appropriate fit and the best person to lead this program moving forward." Hodkey will open the position internally for five days and then look outside the program. "As always with our head coaching positions, we don't want to leave any stone unturned," Hodkey said. "We want to see who is out there and who is the best fit to move this program forward." As for Spelling, don't expect him to be a stranger to Medina. The social studies teacher has made the Bees who they are and is willing to help. "I'll be there as much as the coach wants me involved," he said. "I don't want to step on anyone's toes, but I'll be very supportive from a distance in the background so the coach can take the program in any direction he or she wants to go in." Contact Brad Bournival at bournival929@gmail.com.