Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
CHILLICOTHE — When Chillicothe boys basketball coach Eric Huffer first accepted his position seven years ago, he immediately talked about wanting to “do things the right way.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Huffer has upheld that mantra throughout his time with the Cavaliers and it’s paid its dividends tenfold.
The program has won multiple conference championships, is consistently competing with the top teams in the state, and has grown exponentially since Huffer’s arrival.
On Friday, while doing things the right way, Huffer hit a career milestone.
In a 63-37 win over Hillsboro, Huffer’s Cavaliers handed their head coach his 100th career coaching win … a benchmark accomplishment for one of the best young coaches in Southern Ohio.
“I think back to all the youth coaches that I’ve had, my high school and college coaches, and the coaches I’ve been able to work under and learn from … they’ve had a big impact on my values and coaching style,” Huffer said. “When I think of 100 wins, my mind goes back to all those individuals that have played such a big role in my life. But I couldn’t do it without the players and parents that I’ve been able to work with these past six seasons.”
Huffer’s leadership has been imperative to the Cavaliers’ success during his seven-year tenure. But he’ll be the first to tell you that they key to it all has been his players and assistant coaches.
Together, they’ve built a winning culture within the program in everything they do.
“I believe one of the keys to our success has been the culture that we’ve tried to implement in each one of our players, both on and off the court,” Huffer said. “There are certain characteristics that we talk about — humility, passion, thankfulness and unity — and our players have done an amazing job of buying into those characteristics.
“I’ve been extremely fortunate to have an amazing support team with our administration and the parents that also belong to our program,” Huffer continued. “I’ve been blessed with some really great players and great teams that have played the game the right way.”
Huffer has consistently led his players up against one of the toughest, if not the toughest, non-league schedules in the area.
His career coaching record now stands at 100-53 while his Cavaliers continue a hunt for their third straight Frontier Athletic Conference title.
Currently, the Cavaliers are 11-1 overall and 5-0 in the FAC — the team’s only loss came to Cincinnati Moeller, the state’s No. 1 ranked team in Division I.
There’s still much work to be done.
“Several goals that remain for the season remain. We want to go undefeated in league play, we want to host two tournament games and win a sectional championship, and we want to win a district game and play for a district championship in Division I,” Huffer said. “Chillicothe hasn’t won a Division I district title since the 1992-93 season.”
Next on the agenda for Chillicothe are home dates with Fairfield Union on Tuesday and Miami Trace on Friday.