Citing a need to be closer to home and an opportunity he couldn't refuse, John Cherne has resigned as boys' basketball coach at Red Bank.
"There are some opportunities available immediately that would have taken a couple of years [to reach] here, and I'll be two hours from my mom," he said.
Cherne will take over as boys' basketball coach at Kapaun Mount Carmel High in Wichita, Kan.
"My dad passed away a little over two years ago, and my brother is getting ready to move to Chicago. At the school, there will be the opportunity to move into administration in a couple of years, and I could possibly be teaching college courses," said Cherne, who has begun working on his doctorate.
Cherne went to high school at Bishop Carroll in Wichita, so his decision definitely involved a homecoming.
"It's almost like I'm leaving home to go home," he said. "This was not an easy decision. My time at Red Bank has been a great learning experience, and I have met a lot of really good people along the way. Chattanooga has been good to me, and Red Bank has been an extremely good place to be. The decision is definitely bittersweet."
Cherne came to Red Bank to coach the girls' team and did so for three years. He coached both the girls' and boys' teams in the 2004-05 season. He surrendered the girls' coaching position after that year. He leaves the Lions with a .697 winning percentage - 163-71 - and he took them to two state tournaments. The team was 25-8 this year.
"It has been a heck of a ride. We played all over the state, and the kids I have coached here have been great - hard-working and dedicated," he said.
Cherne expressed gratitude to Red Bank principal Gail Chuy.
"She taught me a lot, and she is the one who set me on my current path," he said. "She's the reason I'm in a doctoral program and now have an interest in getting into administration."
Red Bank now is without head coaches in both boys' and girls' basketball. Girls' coach Scott Redman resigned about a month ago to take over the boys' program at Signal Mountain.