Marc Turner resigns as Coatesville boys basketball coach

CALN – One of the highest profile boys basketball coaching positions in PIAA District 1 has suddenly, and surprisingly, come open as Marc Turner has resigned his position Thursday as boys basketball head coach at Coatesville High School.

Turner was in his third season as head coach of the Red Raiders and Coatesville currently sports a 3-3 record going into Thursday’s night game with Avon Grove.

Turner had replaced Fred Thompson, who resigned due to health reasons three years ago after leading Coatesville for just one season. Turner was the third Coatesville head coach in five years and came to Coatesville after a long and successful run at the Church Farm School.

“While I enjoyed coaching many of the kids and interacting with some of the parents at Coatesville, there were segments of the Coatesville basketball community that made this a bad situation,” Turner said. “Coatesville is a very hard place to coach and I think some members of the basketball community have to look at themselves in the mirror and hold themselves accountable.”

In a written statement released Thursday, Coatesville High School Athletic Director Brian Chenger talked about the basketball program going forward and thanked Turner for his time at Coatesville.

“We are very saddened and surprised to have received the resignation of CASH boys basketball head coach Marc Turner,” Chenger said. “We have great respect fort Mr. Turner and appreciate his work with our students over the last two years.

“Our current coaches, Ryan Dunbar, Howard Sellars, Marc Bailey and Gary Duncan, will continue to coach the JV and varsity teams, with Ryan Dunbar assuming the head coaching responsibilities on an interim basis at the varsity level and Coach Bailey maintaining his JV lead role while also providing support at the varsity level for the remainder of the season.

“We are not able to share details of our conversation with Mr. Turner, but we are committed to providing the most positive athletic experience possible for all of our student athletes, boosters and coaching staff. We will be meeting with our basketball boosters and players in the coming days and hope to have a productive conversation about how we can move forward in a positive and collaborative manner.”