Phillips led Chagrin to state title

Fifth in a series. Frank Phillips, a legendary coach at Chagrin Falls who died in 2016, will be inducted June 15 during a ceremony at halftime of The N-H Senior Bowl at Mayfield High School.

It’s often said that the best, most impactful coaches know how to push their players to greatness — be tough, but also be the first person to put their arm around their athlete and tell them they are proud of them.

When you combine that with success, you have a winning combination.

No coach embodied that more than Frank Phillips, a former teacher and coach at Chagrin Falls who will be inducted into the News-Herald Sports Hall of Fame at halftime of the NewsHerald Senior Bowl on June 15 at Mayfield Stadium.

For 42 years, Phillips dedicated himself to the community of Chagrin Falls as a social studies and history teacher, as well as a highly successful girls basketball coach and boys golf coach.

Phillips died in on July 27, 2016, after a courageous battle with cancer. His son Mike and his wife Laurie are flying in from North Carolina for the Hall of Fame induction.

“It’s really exciting,” said Mike Phillips, a former student-athlete at Kenston. “This is an incredible honor. I know he would be thrilled. He always enjoyed the relationships he had with everyone he touched in coaching, whether it was students, parents, coaches, administrators or media.

“Our whole family is excited and honored for this privilege.”

Phillips is probably best known for his work as Chagrin Falls’ girls basketball coach, a program he headed up from 1991-2005. Over that span, he won 348 career games, including a state championship (and 28-0 season) in 1998 and a state runner-up finish in 1997.

On the golf course, where he led the Tigers’ boys program from 2000-2009, Phillips led Chagrin Falls to six Chagrin Valley Conference championships in 10 years. His team advanced to the Division II state tournament five times — a nifty

50 percent success rate in advancing to Columbus — with his teams finishing fourth, fifth, seventh (twice) and 12th.

Suffice it to say, he is one of the most decorated coaches in Chagrin Falls history.

“He was intense, but he had such a love for the kids, whether he was coaching a camp in the summer with elementary-aged kids, or he was working with his varsity teams,” Mike Phillips said. “For him, it was all about having them have a good experience. Like I said when I delivered the eulogy at his funeral, you were in his good graces as long as you tried your hardest.”

One of the many people who saw that up close was current Chagrin Falls girls basketball coach Brittany Anderson.

“Mr. Phillips pushed me as a player to be more than I thought I was capable of,” Anderson said. “If I ever thought of myself as just a defender or rebounder, he had a vision of the complete player that I should, and could, be. He was open and honest with me about what I needed to do to help the team or to play at the next level — and sometimes it was tough to hear — but I respected him so much for his direct approach.”

The 1998 state championship season, capped by a 60-35 rout of Peebles in the state title game, was held dear by Phillips. Mike Phillips said the previous year’s close call fueled the fire for his father and the rest of the

team.

A member of that team — Trish Kruse — was inducted into The News-Herald High School Sports Hall of Fame with last year’s class.

“That championship was by far the pinnacle of his career,” Mike Phillips said. “He had the core and nucleus back from the year before — Trish Kruse, Katie Carson, Katie Kruse and others. They worked so hard to not let that sour taste in their mouths happen again.

“My dad said it was one of the easiest coaching jobs he had that year. I would argue that because he worked with those girls from a very young age in the program. And when they won that state title, he was so proud. He wore that championship ring until the very end.”

The golf coaching was a change of pace for Phillips. While basketball coaching was more about strategy, teamwork, scouting and executing a game plan, golf was more of a mental game and teaching the players to play against the course more than against each other.

“Integrity and sportsmanship were of the utmost importance to him,” Mike Phillips said. “Golf was a sport he always enjoyed playing.”

It’s often said that when a coach is hired, his spouse is also hired. It’s a package deal. In that respect, Mike Phillips said his mother and father were the perfect complements.

“Mom was our rock,” he said. “My dad was an incredible father. I don’t

think any of us would have had the success without my mom’s.”

Phillips died two years ago, but the family still holds the values their father taught them.

“The last couple months, they made the decision to get mom set up in her new life, so to speak, when it was inevitable he wasn’t going to live,” Mike Phillips said. “They moved to a condo in Charlotte, which is just a few miles from my brother and I. We’ve always been a very close family. He fought like crazy and as long as he could. It brought us all even closer together.”

Phillips is also a member of the Ohio Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame.

His other personal honors include at Vermilion: AP District Coach of the year – two times, District 6 Coach of the Year in 1988 and 1991, coached in Lorain County All Star Game in 1991; At Chagrin Falls: AP District Coach of the Year – four times, AP State Coach of the Year – two times, Greater Cleveland Coaches Association Coach of the Year – two times, OHSBCA State Coach of the Year (1997), OHSBCA North/South All Star game coach (1998), finalist for National Coach of the Year (San Diego 1999). Frank has also worked as Camp Director for Austin Carr’s camp (boys) and Ursuline College (girls).

“This News-Herald Hall of Fame is such an honor,” Mike Phillips said. “We are proud to accept on his behalf.”

Phillips