Wildasin heads 'home' to coach Delone Catholic boys
Darrell Wildasin is headed "home," leaving as head coach of the West York girls' basketball team to fill the coaching vacancy with the Delone Catholic boys' basketball team. It's the only job Wildasin said he would leave West York to pursue.
He announced the move Friday, filling Delone Catholic's opening while vacating the top spot at one of the best girls' basketball programs in the YAIAA during the last decade.
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When Wildasin stepped away from the Delone Catholic boys' basketball program for family reasons more than a decade ago, he always planned to return.
It just never happened.
The timing was never right.
Even this year, Wildasin didn't think he would leave West York.
But when Delone Catholic took longer than Wildasin expected to fill its current opening, it gave him more time to ponder the move. Eventually, it was a "gut decision."
"I spent an awful lot of time thinking about it," Wildasin said. "If they would have moved under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have pursued it.
"Of all the stops I enjoyed, that was my favorite."
Wildasin made stops coaching boys' basketball teams at Spring Grove (1991-95), Delone Catholic (1996-2003) and Susquehannock (2008-09) before moving on to coach AAU girls' basketball and eventually West York.
He has a 288-180 career coaching record, including a 227-160 mark in boys' basketball.
The opening at Delone Catholic was created when Lawrence Williams returned to his alma mater at Gettysburg after a three-year run at Delone.
Wildasin will become the third man to head the Delone program since the death of coach Jim Dooley in October 2013. Dooley had served as Delone's coach since taking over the program from Wildasin after the 2003 season. Dooley served as the ninth-grade coach during Wildasin's last year with the Squires.
Wildasin, who lives in Hanover, stepped aside so he could watch his son, Adam, play college basketball.
West York secured three winning seasons and two trips to the state tournament during Wildasin's stay. His best team went 29-2, falling in double overtime in the second round of the state tournament in 2015. The Bulldogs went 18-9 and reached the state tournament this season.
West York's program became a perennial division title contender under former coach Jon Shultz. Wildasin kept the program rolling, and West York has had just one losing season (2011) during the last decade.
"I always considered myself a guys' coach, but I enjoyed my time at West York and it hurt to notify them I was leaving," Wildasin said.
Wildasin and assistant coach Gerry Rohrbaugh will move to Delone, where the Squires went 12-11 a season ago.
West York will look to move quickly to find a replacement.
"I'm looking to possibly present a candidate to the board by August," West York athletic director Frank Hawkins said.