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prep girls basketball

Foulk’s 500th win a credit to his players

Longtime Cougars coach attributes success to his teams’ work ethic.

Kenton Ridge girls basketball coach Ed Foulk keeps a watchful eye during practice at Kenton Ridge High School in 2004. Staff photo by Teesha McClam

Teesha McClam Kenton Ridge girls basketball coach Ed Foulk keeps a watchful eye during practice at Kenton Ridge High School in 2004. Staff photo by Teesha McClam

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HANDOUT Kenton Ridge High School girls basketball coach Ed Foulk and former assistant Jeff Weber in the late 1980s.

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Kenton Ridge head coach Ed Foulk and his team bring it
together at the end of a timeout during a sectional championship game against Urbana at Vandalia Butler High School in 2006. Staff photo by Bill Lackey

Bill Lackey Kenton Ridge head coach Ed Foulk and his team bring it together at the end of a timeout during a sectional championship game against Urbana at Vandalia Butler High School in 2006. Staff photo by Bill Lackey

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Cougars give Foulk 500th win

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By Michael Cooper, Staff Writer 11:22 PM Saturday, December 17, 2011

SPRINGFIELD — Ed Foulk still has every scorebook and almost every film from his 28 seasons as Kenton Ridge High School girls basketball coach stored away in his garage.

That’s 644 games total, not including the 618 career games he coached in 22 seasons as the Cougars softball coach. The clutter is too much for his wife, Peg.

“She wants me to get rid of them,” Foulk said, “But I’ve kept almost all of them. The only ones I don’t have are the ones people have borrowed and haven’t returned.”

On Saturday, Foulk earned his 500th career victory at Kenton Ridge, when his Cougars beat Stebbins 100-33. He became the 13th girls basketball coach in Ohio history to reach the milestone.

The credit, he said, belongs to many great players he’s had through the years.

“I’ve had very good players with good work ethics over the years,” Foulk said.

The work ethic, he said, has manifested itself since his first season in 1984-85, when the Cougars went 22-4 and fell to the Coldwater in the regional finals.

“They come in understanding we should win at Kenton Ridge,” Foulk said. “I really think it’s the work ethic that we’ve somehow instilled over the years.”

After his first career victory, a 70-34 win over North on Nov. 20, 1984, Foulk never thought about winning 500 career games. He was only focused on his team’s effort, which he’s done every season since.

“You just coach because you love coaching,” Foulk said, “and the years go by.”

Controversial

Through the years, Foulk, 60, has been one of the most polarizing figures in Clark County sports.

During his tenure, the Cougars have been known for scoring lots and lots of points.

“I’ve always tried to have the players score what we could score, whether it was good or bad,” Foulk said. “I think from the players’ standpoint they’ve benefited from it. One year we had four Division I players on one team. You can contribute that to us scoring a lot of points and getting the kids notice throughout the year.”

The style has led to notoriety for many of his players over the years. He’s had 17 different players named All-Ohio 27 times in his 27 seasons, including nine who’ve went on to play Division I college basketball.

Kenton Ridge has scored more than 100 points 56 times in Foulk’s career. In 2001-02, the Cougars set the national re-cord for their scoring average of 100.1 points per game, which still stands in the National Federation of High School Associations girls basketball record book.

KR has also been wildly successful. The Cougars have won 14 league titles and advanced to the state semifinals twice — in 1991 and 1995. In his basketball career, Foulk has a career winning percentage of 77.6 (500-144).

Foulk believes his players shouldn’t be penalized for playing well against an opponent who may not have spent the same amount of time preparing both during the regular season and the offseason.

“That’s been my theory over the years, and it hasn’t been too popular,” Foulk said.

He’s had negative stories written about his style through the years, including one on Christmas morning. He’s also been escorted off the court several times.

Foulk feels some of the negativity comes from a bias toward girls athletics. He’s seen boys teams score in the 100s, but said it’s never been portrayed as negatively as his teams have been.

“If boys do it, it’s great,” Foulk said, “If girls do it, it’s an embarrassment.”

There’s a perception, Foulk said, that girls shouldn’t score the same way the boys should — even if they can.

“Over the years, I’ve fought for the girls,” Foulk said. “It’s a battle for the girls.”

The Cougars have had just two losing seasons in Foulk’s 27 years, and they came in back-to-back seasons — 1996-97 and 1997-98.

“Since then, we’ve rattled off a lot of wins,” Foulk said.

During the last 10 years, Kenton Ridge has averaged 20 wins per season. The success of the 1990s has made the Kenton Ridge name synonymous with winning around Clark County, the state and the nation.

The Cougars have benefited with several players coming to Kenton Ridge to play for Foulk.

“The program has recruited kids in,” Foulk said. “Some kids come here just for that reason.”

Plenty of help

Foulk has had just six assistant coaches during his time at Kenton Ridge, but none has coached longer than Emil Leach.

Leach, 81, is known as the team executive. He’s coached, scouted and called in the box scores and statistics, among many other things for 20 years.

“Emil used to call in (to the newspaper) and some of the quotes would be Emil,” Foulk said. “It would say, ‘Coach Foulk said,’ but actually it was Emil. Back then, they just assumed it was me.”

Leach has been there for 346 of Foulk’s victories, including all 56 100-point games.

“That’s the game I like,” Leach said.

Foulk said every program needs a coach like Leach, who’ll do anything for the team and its players.

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Foulk's milestone victories

Nov. 20, 1984: Foulk earns his first career victory, beating North 70-34. The Cougars went 22-4, losing to Coldwater in overtime in the regional finals.

March 13, 1991: Cougars fall to Heath 54-32 in first trip to Division III state semifinals.

Dec. 28, 1994: The Cougars beat South 108-95, the most points scored in one game in Ohio girls basketball history, and third most in the nation, according to the NFHS.

200th win: Heather Nienaber scores 22 points as Cougars hang on to beat Bellefontaine 65-61 on Feb. 2, 1995.

March 11, 1995: Angie Finkes scores 29 points as Cougars beat Versailles 89-85 to win second regional title in school history. On March 17, they fell to Sherwood Fairview 102-80 in the D-III state semifinals.

300th win: Jasmine House had 35 points and Jami Finney had 25 as the Cougars beat Benjamin Logan 110-69 on Dec. 13, 2001.

400th win: Sakara House had 28 points as the Cougars forced 42 turnovers in a 64-36 victory over Northwestern on Dec. 5, 2006.

Feb. 5, 2011: Cougars beat Tippecanoe 60-51 to clinch 14th league title in Foulk’s tenure.

500th win: 100-33 over Stebbins on Dec. 17, 2011.

Ed Foulk by the numbers

500-144

Foulk’s current career record at Kenton Ridge in 28 seasons.

.776

Foulk’s career winning percentage.

206

Wins in the last 10 years.

CBC championships.

District championships.

State final four appearances.

Players who have gone on to play at the Division I level.

Times the Cougars have scored 100 points during Foulk’s tenure.

Times KR players have made the girls basketball All-Ohio team.

Girls basketball coaches in Ohio history who have won 500 or more games.

Times KR is mentioned in OHSAA unofficial girls basketball state record book.

100.1

The Cougars’ scoring average for the 2001-2002 season, which remains the highest average in the nation for one season, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book.

Losing seasons in the last 27 years at Kenton Ridge.

962

Career varsity coaching victories for Ed Foulk at Kenton Ridge. He went 462-156 as the school’s softball coach.

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