Chet Feldman has come full circle with the Stow-Munroe Falls High School boys basketball team.
Feldman graduated from Stow in 1993 after earning nine varsity letters, three apiece in football, basketball and baseball. He was an All-Metro League selection in all three sports, helping the Bulldogs reach the Division I state final four in 1993 in basketball.
Now, more than 30 years later, he is Stow’s head coach with his debut coming at home against West Geauga at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 28.
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“This is a great opportunity,” Feldman said. “I want to give back to the community, and give back to the kids and the program that I went through.
“… I am excited to give these kids a great basketball experience because when I went through there, I had a great basketball experience. Winning takes care of a lot of that, so hopefully we can get to winning some games.”
Feldman is an eighth-grade health teacher at Kimpton Middle School in the district, the Teachers Union President for grades 7-12 and the Bulldogs boys golf coach.
Feldman takes over the Stow boys basketball team after longtime coach Dave Close retired in February.
“First and foremost, people are going to say you have got big shoes to fill, right?” Feldman said. “And of course you do because Dave did such good things, especially in the 90s when we had those really good teams. There was a standard, and not only did I play for him, but I also coached with him, so, I know what it is about.
“There is another side to this where you kind of get fresh blood, fresh ideas, new energy and things like that.”
Close, compiled a 619-256 record in 37 seasons at Stow and his 667 career wins overall rank him No. 11 in Ohio High School Athletic Association history. His Stow teams won 13 league titles, seven district championships and reached state final fours in 1990 and 1993.
Feldman started on Stow’s 1993 team. His 240 assists as a senior point guard are tied for the 14th most in a single season in OHSAA boys basketball history.
Feldman continued playing football and basketball at Ohio University and lettered in both sports. After redshirting in basketball at OU in 1993-94 when the Bobcats reached the NCAA Tournament, Feldman played on a team featuring future NBA player Gary Trent and other Bobcat stars such as Geno Ford, Dustin Ford and Shaun Stonerook.
“When I was done at OU and after I earned my master’s degree [in 1999], I was the head basketball coach at Ravenna and I taught there for one year [in 1999-2000],” Feldman said.
“Then, I got the Stow assistant athletic directing position under Jay Tyree and taught health, PE [physical education] and assisted in football and basketball for three years [from 2000-03]. Then, I left and went just basketball and coached at Firestone (2003-05) with Jerry Laria and then I was the head basketball coach at Coventry.”
Feldman was the head coach at Coventry for three seasons (2005-08), guiding the Comets to a Portage Trail Conference Metro Division title.
Since then, Feldman has worked as a personal trainer, and served as an assistant coach at Revere with Dean Rahas for three seasons (2008-11), at CVCA with Matt Futch for two seasons (2020-22) and at Walsh Jesuit with Joe Wojcik for one season (2023-24).
Feldman coached Cleveland Cavaliers forward Larry Nance Jr. during his final three seasons at Revere and Kansas preseason All-American Darryn Peterson during his freshman season at CVCA.
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Chet Feldman comes full circle, set to debut as Stow boys basketball coach
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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