CHERRY VALLEY — As previously reported, Jared Selby has resigned as Cross County head boys basketball coach. Selby made the announcement at the conclusion of the 2023-2024 season.
Selby said he announced his plans to leave early to give the school plenty of time to find a replacement.
“I just came to the conclusion that this just wasn’t a great fit for me and my style,” Selby said. “I wanted the school first and foremost to know what my intentions were instead of holding on to that information for too long so they had a chance to find someone that was a better fit for the school district.
“Making my intentions early and known I could go ahead and start that process for what’s next for me,” he added.
Selby said there were a few highlights during his three years as coach of the Thunderbirds, including a huge win at Earle in his first season.
“That first year we end up getting fifth overall and end up going in and having a chance to make it to the regionals right off the bat in the conference,” he said. “There were parents coming up to me after the game (at Earle) saying we hadn’t done that in so long. I had no idea that hadn’t taken place in a while.”
Selby said he had also the opportunity to coach some great athletes including former all-state player A.J. Beale.
“My senior class this year we didn’t have a lot of success in conference this year,” he said. “They still came to work. Every game plan we had they were listening to it and they were trying to do everything we could to get back in that win column. I was very proud of them.
“We were just undermanned,” Selby added. “We didn’t have a lot of size. We didn’t have a lot of bodies this year. It was just difficult to overcome what we had to play against in our conference.”
Selby said he hopes to remain a coach but is leaving his future up to God.
“If the Lord wants me to do something else, then I’ll do something else. That’s just kind of where I am at this point after 16 years,” he said. “I don’t really feel like I’ve gotten everything that I need to out of coaching. I think I still have more to give within coaching. I still have that desire to coach. I just want to find somewhere that’s going to be a little bit better fit for me and my family.”
