Photo by Kim North Newly named Wheeling Park High School head golf coach Shane Glass, left, is pictured with his assistant coach, Mike McLeod. Glass takes over for Don Headley who retired after last season.

WHEELING – It’s never easy replacing a coaching legend, but Shane Glass is going to try his very best.

Glass is a 1985 graduate of Grafton High School where he led the Bearcats to the W.Va. Class AA state championship as a senior in 1984. He also appeared in 100 baseball games, which is also a program record.

“I’m excited. This is my first head coaching job,” Glass said. “I’ve coached football under Coach Doc (Chris Daugherty) for 15 years, and that staff is tremendous so I’ve learned a lot about kids and coaching. I’ve coached middle school boys and girls basketball. I’ve coached track. I’ve coached multi sports, but (coaching) golf is a little bit different than (coaching) football.

“I think we’ve got some wonderful kids. I’m very excited.”

After more than a decade-and-a-half of leading the Wheeling Park High School boys golf team, Don Headley stepped down following last season, his 16th as head coach. He spent more than three decades with the program. His teams won half-a-dozen W.Va. Class AAA state championships, as well as 10 OVAC Class 5A titles and he coached nine state tournament medalists.

Headley was selected as the 2022-23 WVSSAC Coaches Association Golf Coach of the Year.

Glass inherits a team that returns three W.Va. State Tournament entrants, as well as a transfer that also competed at the state level.

“We’ve got three players that competed in the W.Va. state high school tournament last year in

Seniors Quinn Marsh and Owen Abraham, who has a commitment to hockey but we’re hoping he plays a little bit of golf, and sophomore Seth Widener,” Glass noted. “Conner Ball has transferred over from Wheeling Central and he also competed in the (W.Va.) state tournament.

“Another senior, Brody Groome, is another player I feel can help us as well.”

Glass was quick to point out that coaching golf is a lot different than coaching football, or any other sport for that matter.

“It’s a different type of athlete, of course. I’m familiar with some of the kids and my assistant, Mike McLeod, teaches with me at the middle school, so he has already coached some of these kids,” Glass added.

“I think we can continue the tradition of Wheeling Park golf. I think we have a great youth program around here,” he continued. “The Oglebay Men’s Club sometimes gets the sons of its members interested in golf and then they begin to play. Wheeling is a good place to play golf. Lots of opportunities.”