SHELBY — It was if it was a sign from above.
As Charlie Ridenour was preparing for a home track meet at Shelby High School up in the press box that bears his father’s name, his phone started to ring.
On the other line was Shelby City Schools Superintendent Michael Browning. Ridenour accepted the call in Chuck Ridenour Press Box and was notified that he has been selected to be the next athletic director at Shelby High School, Ridenour’s alma mater, and a truly special place in his heart.
“It just added a little bit of extra meaning to the moment,” Ridenour said.
Ridenour’s father passed away in Dec. 2022 after an Ohio Prep Sports Media Association Hall of Fame sports writing career for the Shelby Daily Globe which earned him the honor of having the press box at the Whippet Athletic Complex named in his honor.
Now, his son will carry on the family legacy of supporting Shelby athletics.
A 2005 Shelby grad, Ridenour will be a familiar face to the coaches, parents and athletes, which will make taking on such a huge career move easier had it been at a school that was unfamiliar with Ridenour.
“There is a little bit of ease with this new endeavor,” Ridenour said. “It is people you know and faces you recognize. That helps build that trust with people.”
He saw plenty of success as an athlete at Shelby where he ran cross country and track. He took the Whippets to the state cross country meet in 2001 and 2002 and won state track and field championships in 2003 and 2004.
In addition to his background as a Shelby grad, Ridenour earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2008 before completing his teaching license in education from Ashland University in 2012 where he specialized in integrated science education. In 2020, he earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from Concordia University Chicago.
Ridenour is a veteran in the classroom and education system. He spent two years at Claymont High School before moving closer to home for a year at Bucyrus High School. He found a steady home at Ontario Middle School for a decade where he coached cross country.
For the 2025-26 school year, he was back at his alma mater teaching science before accepting the athletic director position which will start on Aug. 1.
Everywhere he went, Ridenour also spent time in the coaching circle. He was the middle school cross country coach at Shelby from 2010-12 before becoming an assistant track coach at Claymont from 2013-24. He was the head boys track coach at Wynford in 2018 all while being an assistant cross country coach from 2015-2024 and the head middle school track coach from 2016-2022 at Ontario.
He was also the middle school athletic director for two years.
When he wasn’t coaching, he spent his time as a 20-year veteran basketball official where he officiated three state and 12 regional tournaments and was a secretary, president and rules interpreter for the North Central Ohio Basketball Officials Association and has officiated several News Journal All-Star Classic charity basketball games.
His background in education and athletics makes him the perfect candidate to replace outgoing AD Pat Lewis, who finished a 34-year career in education including the last 20 as AD at Shelby.
“When you think about Pat doing this for two decades, those aren’t shoes you fill easily,” Ridenour said. “You just hope you are strong enough to continue the momentum, direction and culture that has been set.”
Lewis sees Ridenour as the perfect replacement.
“Charlie was a student of mine,” Lewis said. “I am so excited for him and thrilled for what it means to him, his dad and his family in general. He is a Shelby guy through and through and will bring some perspective that maybe I didn’t have. He was born and raised here. He will bring a healthy change and I am excited to help him in any way I can.
“He will have a ton of support from our coaches and I know he will support all of them.”
He is excited to bring his own expectations to his, and his father’s, alma mater. A place where he followed his dad around while he covered several Shelby athletic events over the course of a few hours on a daily basis.
“From a young age, I have had a unique perspective of interscholastic athletics,” Ridenour said. “I’ve been on the sidelines, in post-game interviews and everything in between. I have that perspective that has worn a lot of different hats. A high school athletic director is a hat that I have always wanted. This was the goal and the aspiration. Here is the opportunity at a place where I grew up and a very special place to me.”
jfurr@usatodayco.com
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Ridenour lands dream job as Shelby High School Athletic Director
Reporting by Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal / Mansfield News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
