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