O'Donnell to leave coaching for administration

MARION -- Brian O'Donnell is leaving the coaching ranks and returning to his roots.

O'Donnell resigned as girls' basketball coach at Marion High School on Wednesday morning. He will become the principal at St. Pius X Elementary School in Cedar Rapids, effective July 1.

"I'm not resigning because I want to get out of coaching," O'Donnell said Wednesday after meeting with the Marion players. "The No. 1 reason I became a coach was to impact young people, and this will be a new, different avenue in doing that."

O'Donnell, 37, has coached 12 years, the last two at Marion. He coached Springville to the Class 1A state championship in 2008.

This has been a spring full of interviews for O'Donnell, who was approached for two vacant Metro coaching jobs.

But the St. Pius job is the position O'Donnell coveted, and by Tuesday night, it was his.

"I'm excited about being at a school in which my kids will be in the same building," said O'Donnell, who has two sons and a third on the way. "This is a place in which I have a lot of ties."

O'Donnell grew up in the Cedar Rapids Catholic system, graduating from LaSalle High School in 1993.

As a coach, he compiled a 150-134 record. He made deep footprints at Springville.

It started inauspiciously, an 0-22 mark in Year 1. But O'Donnell coached the Orioles to Tri-Rivers Conference Valley Division titles in 2004 and 2006 and a Tri-Rivers Conference crown in 2009.

The Orioles won the Class 1A title in 2008, then returned to the championship game in 2009, dropping a 28-27 heartbreaker to Ackley AGWSR.

"Coaching is going to be a big void. I'll miss it a lot," O'Donnell said. "It's going to be very strange. It will be difficult at times next year. Marion has got some great kids coming back, and it will be tough not to be a part of that."

O'Donnell was hired at Marion in the spring of 2010 while continuing to teach high school social studies at Springville.

Under his watch, the Indians went 6-16 in 2010-11, then improved to 15-9 and a third-place finish in the Wamac Conference West Division last winter. Marion advanced to the 3A regional final in February before losing to eventual state champion Davenport Assumption.

"Brian has the program headed in the right direction," said Marion Athletics Director Corby Laube said.  "It's really hard to see him go. He has great character, he's a great person along with being a good coach.

"I totally support and understand his decision. This is a great opportunity for him."

Marion figures to be a factor in the Wamac West race again next winter. The Indians return 49 percent of their scoring; Beth Knapp will be a senior next season, Emi Banes will be a junior, Michalyn Mohr and Amanda Sahm will be sophomores.

Laube said he hopes to start interviews for the vacancy by the end of next week.