News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Gary Hedin will be the Outlaws football coach this season.
The assistant coach stepped into the interim role on Monday after Clyde Powell, who led the Sisters Outlaws to a 2-8 record last season, stepped down from his position as head coach.
Powell, who was hired on a short-term basis after the departure of longtime head coach and principal Bob Macauley, told The Nugget he simply cannot deliver the level of commitment the position requires.
"It really goes back to some of my personal convictions," he said. "You have to have a football coach in the community - and preferably in the (high school) building."
Powell lives in Bend.
The 65-year-old coach said he was once told that "being a head coach is a young man's game - and now that I have an AARP card, I understand that."
The Outlaws football program gets underway in mid-August, leaving school administrators a narrow window in which to reconfigure the coaching staff. Hedin is the only on-campus coach left with the program, and Powell told The Nugget that Randy Burdick and Gary Pepperling have said they will continue to help out.
Sisters High School Principal Joe Hosang told The Nugget that going with an interim coach was the most appropriate option.
"It's just way too late to go out and search for a coach," he said.
Hedin would be considered for a longer-term role if he is interested, Hosang said.
"He's a star on the field; he's a star with kids," Hosang said. "He connects great with kids."
Hedin is, however, concerned about fundraising, which he does not consider a strong suit, Hosang said.
"I'm hoping that the football community will rally around him," Hosang said.
The program appears to be having some trouble recruiting enough players. Powell said he thinks there are 40-45 players planning to turn out for football, but others close to the program think there are fewer than that. Actual numbers seem hard to pin down.
"Lacrosse put out a letter to their players asking them to consider playing football," Hosang noted.
Hedin is head of a program to provide online educational options in the Sisters School District.
Powell started his coaching career with a 16-year stint as the head football coach at Mt. View High School. He was the assistant head coach at Linfield College from 2000-2006.
Powell was also the assistant head coach for the Outlaws when they won back-to-back state titles in 1998 and 1999. He said he will continue to support Outlaws football and he said he sees the increased role of the Sisters Park & Recreation District and the level of parental investment in sports in Sisters as positive developments.
"Sisters is a special place for me," he said.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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