Fort Frye's Dan Liedtke talks to his team during a timeout in a 2020 game in Beverly. (Times file photo)

BEVERLY — Dan Liedtke is living life on his own terms these days.

The hall-of-fame basketball coach, who amassed 759 wins over 40 seasons at Fort Frye High School, is prioritizing family, whether that means spending time with his four grandchildren or taking care of his 94-year-old father in New Philadelphia.

“I’ve become a pretty good grandpa,” said Liedtke, whose daughters Morgan, Megan and Makayla all were standout players at FFHS. “I’ve got four grandchildren with a fifth on the way. I’ve got my dad. I’m staying pretty busy.”

However, that doesn’t mean Liedtke hasn’t thought about a return to the coaching ranks.

“I’ve still got the itch to coach,” Liedtke said. “They recently inducted me into the District 12 Coaches Hall of Fame. When they called me about it, I said ‘I don’t know if you want to do that.’ I told them there’s a good chance I’d be coaching again, but they said they understood.

“I’ve had offers. We’ll see. I’m still talking to people. There’s a lot of other things going on in my personal life. It’s got to be the right timing and right situation.”

When Liedtke first became head coach of the Fort Frye boys in 1985, he never could’ve foreseen the type of career he’d put together.

“When I came to Fort Frye, I didn’t think I’d be here that long. I was going to use it as a stepping stone, make a name for myself and move on,” Liedtke said.

“When we first started, the program wasn’t all that successful like it became. Being able to change that, filling the gym up — the crowds got so big they added bleachers to the gym. Just changing the whole atmosphere. We became pretty well state-known in boys and girls basketball at Fort Frye.”

Liedtke also never could have foreseen how his time at Fort Frye would end.

The Cadets finished the 2024-25 season with a 21-5 record. They were coming off a hard-fought 57-54 loss to Rootstown in the Final Four. It was the fourth time Liedtke had guided a team to the state tournament. He found himself contemplating his future.

“When the season was over, I think players were wondering if I was going to coach another year,” Liedtke said. “I thought about stepping away. I thought maybe they’d want something different, but they approached me after the season and they wanted me to stay coaching. So, I made my decision. I called them in together as a team and I told them I was going to stay on.”

Liedtke, who had previously given up his teaching position at the district, soon realized it wasn’t going to be up to him.

“I was told I could be losing my position because I gave up my teaching position,” said Liedtke. “I knew a lot of coaches who gave up their teaching position and kept coaching. My last couple days, I was told that the person who was going to take over the position would override me because they were a teacher and I wasn’t. I had been teaching there 41, 42 years at that school. I knew there was kind of a coup going on. I asked them, if we would’ve gone all the way and won state, would this still be happening. They said yeah. This was when the retire-rehire thing was happening. Even if I hadn’t stepped away from teaching, that was going to be taken away from me anyway. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me.”

Liedtke coached the Fort Frye boys from 1985 to 2012. He then coached the girls from 2009 to 2025. For three years, he coached both teams at the same time. He guided the Cadets to 28 total league championships and 12 district championships.

Liedtke ran a tough program at Fort Frye, and while his style of coaching has netted great results, he admitted that sometimes it could rub players and parents the wrong way.

“We had lost some players over the summer prior to that season,” he said. “To be a successful coach, sometimes you get in situations where, to make your team the best it can be, sometimes that creates controversy for parents and players.

“You want players to step up. You want them to play to their highest potential. You know they have more in them, so you try to light a fire under them. Sometimes it backfires.”

Liedtke believes that played a part in why he was replaced.

When reached for comment, Fort Frye Local School District superintendent Stephanie Starcher said, “On behalf of the district, I want to congratulate Dan on his recent awards. They’re well deserved. I felt like he was a great coach at Fort Frye, which is one of the reasons I helped lead the committee to help get the court named after him. I was in charge of that process when the board made the decision.”

Cathy Borich was approved as Fort Frye’s new head coach in May of 2025. The Cadets went 20-5 and lost to Shenandoah in the district finals.

“As far as the hiring process, Fort Frye followed the law and our collective bargaining agreement,” Starcher said. “Dan has a great legacy at Fort Frye and we wish him nothing but success in the future.”

Liedtke felt like he’d earned the right to go out on his own terms. While it didn’t work out that way, he’s come to terms with the reality of the situation and is moving forward.

“It was just a tremendous run at Fort Frye,” he said. “I didn’t think it would end this way, but I’m still proud of what I accomplished. I run a very disciplined, very disciplinary program. I’ve had so many alumni call me and tell me how much it has helped them to succeed off the court. That’s very rewarding.”

There’s a rewarding side of coaching, and then there’s a not-so-rewarding side of it. Liedtke opened up about the challenges behind the scenes most people may not be aware of.

“Let’s say you’ve been friends with people for a long time,” Liedtke said. “Now they have a kid on the team, and maybe their kid isn’t getting much playing time — that’s a very ugly part of coaching. But, to be a true coach, I’m going to do the best job I can and do whatever needs to be done to make the best team I can.

“My wife and I, we’ve had to isolate ourselves from a lot of social activities,” he continued. “You get around people, and they want to ask about the team. If they have a kid on the team, you have to watch what you say. We’ve lost friends over the years. We’ve gained friends. You find out who your true friends are when you’re a coach.”

Liedtke is big on culture. That’s what drove him all those years at Fort Frye, and it’s what gives him the itch to return to the coaching ranks.

“The funnest part of the whole thing is taking a program that hasn’t been very successful and building it up and seeing how people react to that,” Liedtke said. “That’s probably the most enjoyable thing. Over time, if you continue doing that, I’m talking successful year after year, that kind of wears off. People just expect it.

“I’ve had good coaches in the past tell me it’s one thing building a program – it’s another keeping a program going.”

One of Liedtke’s mentors, Charlie Huggins — father of former West Virginia University coach Bob Huggins — had a huge influence on his basketball career.

“I learned the game from him, going to his camps,” Liedtke said. “When I was young my dad would take me to his games at Strasburg, Indian Valley, Hiland, wherever he went. I learned a lot from him.”

Liedtke also mentioned his college coach, John Lawhorn at Rio Grande, as an impactful presence in his life.

“I got a scholarship to play basketball but got in a car accident,” he said. “He took me under his wing and told me I needed to stay in the game with my competitiveness. He’s given me a lot of advice. Looking up to them, and knowing I’ve had players who look up to me like I looked up to my coaches, that’s pretty special.”

No matter how things ended, Liedtke and Fort Frye will always be synonymous with one another. His name is on the court, after all.

Still, Liedtke was hesitant to return to the gym last season when he received an invitation from Emmie Duskey. Duskey, a senior on the 2024-25 team and a first team All-Ohioan was honored at halftime of a boys game on Jan. 10 and wanted Liedtke to be there.

As great coaches tend to do, Liedtke put his player’s feelings ahead of his own and decided to go.

“That was my first time back there,” Liedtke said. “Emmie had contacted me. I think she knew I probably was not real enthused about going, but it was her. She wanted me to be there, and that was such a great honor. I wasn’t going to turn that down. It did feel good to be back in that gym for that evening.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.