By Mandy McFarland Enquirer Coordinator
BREMEN — The search is on for a new Bremen High School varsity boys’ basketball coach. The Bremen school board announced at their regular meeting last Tuesday, May 5 that head coach Kevin Ecenbarger had resigned from the position for personal reasons. The board voted to accept Ecenbarger’s resignation.
“It seems like every place he’s been he’s had success, and it seems unfortunate that life has changed and I understand but he was doing a good job for us and he’ll be missed,” School Superintendent Russ Mikel said.
Bremen High School Principal Bruce Jennings read a letter from athletic director Troy Holmes concerning Ecenbarger’s resignation.

“Coach Ecenbarger has made many contributions to the Bremen boys’ basketball program as the JV coach for eight years and as our varsity coach for the last three years,” Jennings read. “We have nothing but respect for Kevin and greatly appreciate the job he has done for our school. Coach Ecenbarger has successfully established high expectations for the basketball program at Bremen.”
The high school immediately posted the position and hopes to fill it as soon as possible. They expect to have a recommendation at their next meeting.
Meanwhile, Ecenbarger plans to continue teaching biology at the high school.
According to Ecenbarger, many factors led to his decision to leave the coaching position, but most of all was lost time with his family.
“I have missed several events as they relate to my 6-year-old son, Brody, and my wife, Jennifer,” he said. “When I look at the time I have invested in the basketball program at Bremen, I realized I have missed out on some things I should not have missed out on with them"
Ecenbarger said he thought through the situation carefully before making his final decision.
"What I got in return for my time investment in basketball could no longer be ignored when I really considered it in a truthful manner,” he said.
Not that leaving his position will be easy.
“I am going to miss everything associated with coaching basketball in general, whether it would be at Bremen or anywhere else,” he said. “I absolutely love  being a part of the game of basketball, especially coaching it.  I believe no sport compares to basketball. “
Ecenbarger began coaching basketball and teaching high school science right after he graduated from college 19 years ago. He started at Hamilton High School and coached junior high basketball, then moved to Oregon-Davis Jr./Sr. High, where he served as the varsity basketball and golf coach for five years. From there he moved to Bremen, where he has been since.
“It really has been a blessing in my life,” he said. “I met my wife Jennifer and we now have a 6-year-old son, Brody.”
Before becoming head varsity coach, Ecenbarger either coached or helped coach several sports, including JV basketball, track and football. At one time he was coaching all three.
“I went from basketball to track to football and back to basketball over the course of one calendar year,” he said. “Needless to say, I did not continue that for a second year.”
Despite his decision to step down, Ecenbarger said he has enjoyed his time coaching at Bremen and has found a lot of support from the administration.
“That is not the way it is for a lot of coaches in the state as it relates to basketball,” he said. “This has lasted right through to the end as they have supported my decision to step down. Not many coaches get the chance to walk away when they are ready to.”
Still, Ecenbarger is not entirely giving up on the idea of coaching.
“I have wondered if there is a situation better suited for me to explore in the future from a coaching standpoint,” he said. "Maybe being an assistant again and not having as much responsibility for the overall program would be best for me. Maybe coaching at the youth level where the season is not so long and it is not a year-around commitment would be best. Maybe not coaching at all is best. I don’t know what is best right know, but I am going to keep all options open at this time and not rule out anything.”
Ecenbarger expressed his gratitude to the community and all who have supported him and the basketball program.
“There are too many people to mention individually, but whether they helped coach in our youth program, sponsored teams in our intramural league or were just some of our biggest fans, they have meant a lot to the players and coaches,” he said.
He also thanked those at BHS who have shown support during his coaching career.
“Athletic Director Troy Holmes and Principal Bruce Jennings have been great to work with,” he said. “Win or lose they have been supportive of what we have tried to do the past three years. They really want the best for the kids and the coaches in the program and want to see them experience success in every sense of the word.”