THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 23, 1996 TAG: 9606200203
SECTION: CAROLINA COAST PAGE: 47 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JEFF ZEIGLER, CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: EDENTON LENGTH: 42 lines
It may seem odd that someone who was recently named a coach of the year would decide it was time to cut back, but that's exactly what Robert Woodley has decided to do.
Woodley, the baseball and basketball coach at Edenton-Holmes High School for 15 years, has quit coaching baseball. He will continue to coach basketball at the school. A successor has not been named.
Woodley, who was named North Carolina High School Athletic Association's Male Coach of the Year for the Eastern Region in 1995, decided coaching both sports was too much. He had been coaching baseball and basketball since 1982.
``I decided I wanted to concentrate efforts on one sport. Baseball and basketball overlap too much. Baseball starts February 15 and I still have three weeks of basketball left,'' Woodley said. ``It was spreading me too thin. I had been doing it for 19 years. It's time for someone who has more energy at the end to do it (coach baseball).''
At one time, Woodley, a 23-year veteran of the Edenton-Chowan school system, coached football, basketball and baseball. Along with his basketball and baseball responsibilities, he was also a JV and seventh and eighth grade football coach.
``The wear and tear was taking away from my family life so I got out of football,'' he said. ``It takes a lot out of you when you're trying to run a quality program.''
Woodley has had ups and downs on the baseball field. He won a conference title in 1987, but finished 3-13 in 1996. The Aces haven't made the playoffs since 1992-93.
``We've had some good teams and not-so-good teams. In any program you're going to run into some peaks and valleys,'' he said. ``You learn how to be a winner in life by being able to handle the ups and downs. I don't weigh success on wins and losses.''
Woodley, who takes care of the Edenton Recreation League fields during the summer months, said he will probably miss baseball the first year off the field.
``I'm probably going to have a difficult time the first year when basketball is over,'' he said. by CNB