Joe White out, Eric Crouch in as new Owen Valley football coach

Joe White is headed back home and Eric Crouch suddenly has a new job title just weeks before the high school football season begins.

After just one year as Owen Valley's head coach, White is headed back to his alma mater of Mooresville to be the new Sports Performance Coach for the Pioneers. Crouch, defensive coordinator under previous head coach Rob Gibson as well as White last year, was officially elevated to interim head coach at last Thursday's Spencer-Owen Community Schools Board of Trustees meeting.

White was a defensive coordinator with the Pioneers before coming to Spencer.

"My job will consist of strength and speed training for all athletes before, during and after school," White said in a texted comment. "Strength and speed is my passion and I could not pass on the opportunity to come back to my home town and impact every single student athlete.

"I will not be coaching a sport specifically but I will be going to practices of every sport to improve our performance. It was tough leaving the OV community and I wish them all the best."

Mooresville had to be a strong draw in any case with its recent facilities improvements.

The new additions, Pioneer Pavilion and Pioneer Practice Facility, include a new fieldhouse for multipurpose use. The fitness center in the school includes an elevated track, wrestling room, weight/training room, locker rooms, storage, and officials suite. The Pioneers also just revamped their football field, track and stands.

Crouch pounces on opportunity

Crouch has been at OV for six years and also teaches business and is a part of the Patriot Manufacturing program at the school. He was also the defensive coordinator under former head coach Rob Gibson (22-3 in his two seasons), who is now leading the program at Avon and held that same role last season.

When word came at the beginning of the month White was moving on, OV knew who they were turning to and Crouch was eager and willing to take over.

"We were set up to handle it," OV athletic director Brad Greene said. "Coach Crouch has been an assistant for the last six years, so he was ready to pick up and run with it. And with what he's done, I don't think he missed a beat. The kids are excited and ready to play.

"He's done everything we've asked of him and more."

The ability to turn things over to a familiar face on such a quick turnaround was a big help in making an instant connection with the players.

"He's been for a couple of down years and he's been here when we were at the top and he's been here for some average years, so he knows what it takes to coach at a school our size," Greene said. "And he's an Owen Valley Patriot. He's got what it takes."

The Patriots went 3-7 in a rebuilding year, beating Brown County, Edgewood and Cloverdale, after heavy graduation losses helped make White's only season a tough one.

More: What IHSAA sectional changes will mean for Bloomington area schools

The Patriots will have five home games in a revamped schedule this year, dropping Cloverdale and Greencastle and adding Speedway in Week 2 and a Saturday neutral site game at Avon against Angola (from far northeast Indiana) on Oct. 5. South Putnam and Cascade were moved to weeks 8 and 9.

In addition OV is in a new Class 3A Sectional 31 alignment with Edgewood, Indian Creek, Corydon Central, Madison, North Harrison and Scottsburg.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Joe White out, Eric Crouch in as new Owen Valley football coach