Carmel girls - Departing Coach Rick Risinger
CARMEL, Ind. – (Updated 3/27) Coach Risinger will not return after two seasons at Carmel. They were 11-12 and 10-13 with first round Sectional losses in each year. Not at all the success that Coach has been used to private Heritage Christian previously. Also not the success that, according to reports, is expected by certain Carmel families and boosters. The reality is that Carmel hasn’t cut down any Sectional nets in about seven years, and the annual habit of flirting with a 20-win season has also become a stranger. Three or four seniors leaving including two starters may keep that trend intact. Varsity Club member reports the real cause of Carmel struggles, at least regular season-wise, is a schedule that year-in and year-out ranks among the toughest in the state. Varsity Clubber points out that one could make the argument that their schedule is exactly where it should be in terms of difficulty, given their enrollment, facilities, and all the other intangibles that typically yield success. Still, when there are down years in regards to talent, that schedule is unrelenting. Some relief may be on the way, as Varsity Clubber reports a dynamite JV. In the younger grades, the feeder teams also described as winners although report mentions that, “God only knows where they’ll end up going to high school.” - A factor that now impacts many schools. Interest anticipated from within as Carmel boasts one of the larger coaching staffs around. One name mentioned specifically is Maliah Howard, current JV coach. That being said, Carmel still sees itself as a major league player, and will likely cast a wide net for a proven championship coach. Amazingly, a school of Carmel’s size doesn’t have any teaching positions, but at this time only a handful of Eled jobs are listed as open over their vast school system.
