Zack Essex new basketball coach at Varna-Midland

by Steve Dunford

Former West Frankfort Redbird, Zack Essex has been hired to coach basketball at Varna-Midland high school.  Midland is located 30 miles northeast of Peoria.  Their enrollment is 192, so it would be comparable to Sesser-Valier, Goreville or Christopher in enrollment size.  The Timberwolves compete in the Tri-County conference.

Essex spent the last two years at Joppa High School.  The Rangers posted an 18-12 record in the 2016-17 season, which was the first winning record in fifteen years  at the small Massac County school.  Joppa has the exact same enrollment as the fictional Hickory in the movie Hoosiers, 64.

Essex promoted culture change in his time there.  His team would make a trip to the Sesser-Valier Holiday tournament to scout future opponents.  The Rangers played in the two day Dongola Christmas Tournament, so they would have a day they were able to come up.  He also scouted Thompsonville on the meet to team day, as he spent a lot of time in Franklin County with family.

The Tigers were the only Franklin County school on the Ranger’s schedule, as they started a series during the 2015-16 season.  Joppa beat the Tigers on their homecoming night last year 61-54.

Long time Marion coach Larry Jenkins got his start at Joppa, winning a Class A regional in 1982, as well as Sesser-Valier’s Rick Metcalf picked up his first of his over 500 wins there.

Joppa will have 6′ 6″ Caleb Cox coming back, as I have described him as a Brant Glidewell type player.

Good luck to Coach Essex in the next step of his coaching career.

Below is the story from the Lacon Home Journal, the local paper that covers Midland.

 

Zach Essex Hired As New Boy’s
Basketball Coach, PE Teacher At Midland

Midland High School has found their new boy’s basketball coach. Thirty-one year old Zach Essex was employed by the Midland Board of Education on Monday, July 24th as the new PE teacher and head boy’s basketball coach replacing Josh Hofer who took an employment opportunity at East Peoria High School.

Essex, a graduate of West Frankfort High School and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, served the last two years as Health and PE teacher, head basketball and baseball coach as well as athletic director at tiny Joppa High School in Joppa, Illinois, a town of around 400 people located on the Ohio River about 20 miles northwest of Paducah, Kentucky.

“Obsessed” with basketball, Essex took over the program at Joppa High School in the fall of 2015. He took over a program that had averaged just 6 wins over the past 15 years and won 10 games in his first season, then improved that to 18 wins last season. He takes over in a similar situation at Midland where the team has struggled lately, averaging just 5.4 wins over the last 5 seasons, the last one under Coach Josh Hofer (4-23) and the previous two (5-49)
under Coach Matt O’Brien.

The last winning season came in the 2011-12 season when Coach Jeff Herkelman led the team to a 17- 13, a season that cultimated with a berth in the “Sweet 16” and a trip to the Sectional Championship game.

“I would not have moved away for nothing,” stated Essex. “There is just something about Midland. It’s a bigger 1A school. The administration has been great, the weight room is huge and the facility is
great.”

Essex also stated that he has been doing his homework, scouting Midland’s opponents for next
year, noting that there are just four teams on the regular season schedule that posted winning records last year.

“I think Midland has the talent. That’s another reason I wanted this program,” stated Essex.
“I put a lot of time in with my players. It will be a very busy fall getting gym open and getting to know them personally. From there we will start thinking basketball.”

Essex is moving with his family to the area prior to the start of the September 5th school year. He becomes the 8th head basketball coach at Midland since the district was formed back in 1995.