Basketball coach puts down whistle for administrative job

For the past 13 years, Casey Dees has eagerly anticipated the start of the high school basketball season.

//

This year is no different in that regard for the longtime coach. What's changed is the reason he's excited.

Dees started a new phase of his education career last month. He will no longer serve as a coach because he has taken a job as an assistant principal.

The new administrator will split time between Evans and Grovetown middle schools.

"I think it's going to be a great move for my family," he said. "I'm excited to be with two great principles, Mr. (Tom) Smallwood at Grovetown and Mr. (Michael) Johnson at Evans.

"I get the opportunity to learn a lot from two really good people."

The measure of respect was mutual.

"He's a good man," Johnson said. "We love having him around here."

Dees started the new job two weeks before school started Monday. He said the timing wasn't problematic because he has learned over the years to get the most out of his time.

"It's a matter of time management," he said. "If you're a good manager of your time, things like that don't really affect you too much. You're able to adjust and move on."

Dees began coaching boys basketball at Wayne County in Jesup, Ga. After a five-year stint, he took a job at Greenbrier High School. In addition to boys basketball, he served as offensive line coach for the football team and also coached one year of varsity softball.

Last school year, after five years at Greenbrier, Dees took a job at Grovetown High School. It was there where he says he learned a great deal about time management.

In addition to serving as head coach of the boys basketball and varsity softball teams, Dees was a department head, a part-time instructor in in-school suspension, and a mentor teacher. He also started the school's broadcast and video production program.

Boys soccer coach Bill Madigan will take over coaching duties for Grovetown's boys basketball and varsity softball teams.

Despite his enthusiasm for working in the school offices, Dees said he will miss coaching. He said his favorite aspects of it were "just the interaction with kids and seeing their competitive nature."

"It was great to be able to see them grow from the time they were freshmen all the way through their senior year," he said.

Those aspects are not unlike what he will see as an administrator, he said. The only difference is that the competitiveness he'll see will be in the classroom.

Dees didn't always envision himself as an administrator. When he decided it was something he wanted to do, he wanted to make sure the timing was right for his family.

As it turns out, the timing was perfect. His wife, Ashley, was a language arts teacher at Greenbrier High and moved to Grovetown High last year. Now, Casey Dees said she will be able to stay home with 2-year-old son Cameron and 4-month-old daughter Macey, at least until Cameron reaches pre-school age.

Dees also won't have to worry about getting home late from away games and not being able to see his kids as much as he'd like.

He's still looking forward to basketball season, but it will be different this time around.

"It's going to be really weird," Dees said with a smile. "For 13 years, I've never missed a basketball season.

"I can go out to support the kids and sit back and relax and not be so stressed out, being worried about coaching."