As the clock wound down on December 27, Rams Head Coach Dusty Cole reached an incredible milestone: his 200th varsity win against the Hamilton Heights Huskies during the Switzerland County Holiday Tournament.
Although he is only the second coach to hit this milestone at Paoli, following Coach Mike Brown, for Dusty, it is less about the wins and more about the experience.
“It means that I’ve had a lot of good players over the years. It means that I’ve had good help and a great support system. It means that I’ve been placed in a situation to be successful. While it is an honor to reach 200 wins, the total number of wins is not that important to me. Overall wins are not one of the reasons that I coach. I coach for the relationships. I coach to get an opportunity to work with and develop young people. I coach to help teach life skills and life lessons. I coach because I enjoy the camaraderie and the teamwork. I coach because I crave competition and love competing,” said Cole.
One of these players whose game has impacted Dusty on and off the court is senior Fletcher Cole, Coach Cole’s son.
“No one deserves it more than my dad. People don’t realize how much time and passion he puts into coaching,” said Cole.
With the development of these victories spanning many years, some wins stick out when you look back.
“Winning the Sectional in 2022 would be up there on the list. We were not expected to win that Sectional. Fletcher was a freshman and had a phenomenal game. We came back from being down almost 20 points in the second half to win in overtime. John Moon hit a shot at the buzzer from a pass from Fletcher to send it to overtime. I also look back to my first Sectional Championship with the boys in 2019. That was a great team that really deserved to get a Sectional Championship. Paoli Boys hadn’t won a Sectional in over 10 years,” said Cole.
Cole has had a record with varsity boys basketball of 213-92, but before he started his journey with the boy’s program, he was also a part of our girl’s program.
“Our Sectional Championship with the girls also stands out. Another wonderful group to coach that deserved to win. It was so hard to break through and win one for our girls’ program. I can’t recall exactly but it had been like 30 years since our girls had won a Sectional. We were long overdue,” said Cole.
As of now, in the 2024-25 season, Dusty has led the team to a 18-2 record with three games left (as of press date), and the Sectional tournament will be up next for Cole and his Rams.