Ashland County Sports Hall of Fame
Ashland County Sports
Hall of Fame
 
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Class of 2008
'Mark Camp
'Jody Getz
'Tim Kline
'Jack C. Porter*
'Russel Reynolds, Jr.
'Bill Springer
'Greg Steele
'Scott Valentine
'Laura E. Vermilya
'2008 Joel Brean*
'2008 Ralph "Eddie" Farris*
''( Deceased * )

'1951 Undefeated
''Loudonville HS
''Football Team
'1962 Ashland HS Boy's
''Golf State Champions
'1998 Ashland HS Boy's
''Golf State Champions
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Selection Committee
'John Carlisle
'''Chairman

'Bill Rogers
'George Valentine
'Donna Williams
'Barbara Malone
'Robert Valentine
'Duane Yoder


 


Scott Valentine


Scott Valentine

Scott Valentine was born to John and Elise Valentine in Mansfield, Ohio on July 8, 1963. In 1966, Scott, his sisters Kim and Lisa, and his parents moved to Ashland, where Scott’s Dad, John became an assistant coach at Ashland College with Dr. Fred Martinelli. Growing up around the college athletic programs and the great coaches who were there led to him having a huge interest in sports. Scott started organized sports in the city’s youth baseball leagues, Major League and Pony League and was named to several All-Star teams.

A 1981 graduate of Ashland High School, Scott decided to concentrate on football and basketball. He was a three-year letter winner in football. As a sophomore he started as a defensive tackle, then moved to linebacker and fullback in his junior and senior years. He also did the kick-offs and extra points during this time. He was elected captain of the team in both his junior and senior year. He was All-Conference all three years, being voted MVP in his junior and senior year. Scott also earned All-Northwest District, All-State honors and was invited to play in the Ohio North-South game, where he scored the only points for the North by kicking a field goal.

In basketball, Scott was known for his defense and rebounding. He earned Defensive Player of the Year in both his junior and senior years. He was also elected as captain for his senior year.

Scott made a decision after high school to continue playing football for his Dad and Coach Martinelli at Ashland College, where he had spent so much time growing up. In the years that followed he earned four varsity letters and many other honors. During his freshman year he became a starter after game three and became the Freshman Defensive Lineman of the Year at seasons end. He became an All-Heartland Conference performer (two First Team and one Second Team) as well as First Team Academic All-Heartland Conference in the next three years. Scott also received Academic All-American Honorable Mention as a junior and finished off his senior year by being voted captain and receiving many prestigious honors. Among these were the True Grit Award (Team Leader and Performer), the Heartland Conference Defensive Lineman of the Year, the Tony Hinkle Award Winner – Student Athlete of the Heartland Conference, and Associated Press Second Team All-American. Scott had many great teammates and friends at Ashland College, including Dan Fuller, the current Defensive Coordinator on his coaching staff at Ashland High School.

Upon graduation form Ashland College, Scott began his pursuit of a coaching career by becoming a graduate assistant coach at Ithaca College in New York. That 1985 team advanced to the Division III National Championship Game in Alabama. Two years coaching on the college level in New York helped make Scott’s decision in 1987 to come back to Ohio to become a teacher and coach at the high school level.

He has since coached for over 23 years, fourteen of those years being a head coach. Scott has had the opportunity to coach at the high school level for Crestview, South Central, Ontario, and Ashland, as well as Ashland University. While as a head coach at Ontario, they were able to win two North Central Conference Championships. In 2001 they went undefeated and made the school’s first OHSAA playoff appearance. Due to the success of that Ontario team, Scott received many honors. These honors included Mansfield News Journal Coach of the Year, North Central Ohio Coaches Association Coach of the Year, Region 4 – Coaches Sportsmanship Award, and Northwest District
Division IV Coach of the Year. He was also named Head Coach of the North Team in the North Central Ohio All-Star game.

After six years at Ontario the opportunity came to return home where he became the head coach of the Ashland High School Football program. Over the past six years Ashland has had a record of 50-18. During this time the Arrows have won two Ohio Cardinal Conference Championships, made three OHSAA playoff appearances, a Regional Championship, a Final Four appearance, and the 2006 Associated Press Division II Poll Championship. The success of these teams have led to Scott receiving many coaching honors. He was named Ashland Times-Gazette Coach of the Year (2003, 2006, 2007), Ohio Cardinal Conference Coach of the Year (2006, 2007), North Central Ohio Coaches Association Coach of the Year (2003, 2006), Mansfield News Journal Coach of the Year (2003, 2006), Northwest District Coach of the Year (2003, 2006) and
Division II State Coach of the year (2006). He also had the opportunity to coach in the 2003 Ohio North-South game. As a result of hardworking athletes and outstanding coaching staffs, Scott now has the most wins in Ashland High School football history. Scott continues to coach at Ashland High School hoping to continue the pride and tradition of Ashland High School football.

Scott and his wife Amy have been married for 18 years, and have four children: Megan (15), Katie (13), Scott (10), and John (8). Amy is also a teacher in the Ashland City School District at Taft Elementary School. Scott credits his family, teammates, players, coaches, and fans for his success. A special thank you goes to his wife, mom, dad, and in-laws Bob and Evelyn Nusbaum, for all of their help, support and encouragement. He couldn’t have put in all the time needed to be successful without them.

Nominator: Bill Rogers






 
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