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WCCS boys basketball coach retires

WILLIAMSTOWN — Dan Ellis already has one grandchild with another on the way.

“Wade, my son, has a little girl and my daughter Danelle is expecting a baby in August,” said the longtime Wood County Christian School boys’ basketball coach before the start of the Total Package Basketball Camp Thursday morning. “So, I’m pretty excited about that.”

The month of August will be pivotal for another reason in the life of Ellis as he’s planning to retire as the Wildcats’ cage boss and school’s business administrator.

“I want to spend more time with my children and grandchildren,” he said. “I’m planning on staying in the area. But I feel like it’s time for me to move on.”

Ellis will be succeeded at the WCCS basketball helm by longtime assistant Dan Morris.

“I’m real excited about Dan taking over the program because he’s been with me for so long,” Ellis said. “It’ll be a smooth transition.”

A 1969 Fort Frye graduate, Ellis lettered in basketball, football (quarterback), baseball (shortstop) and golf at the Beverly-based school.

“I played for some good coaches and I learned a lot,” Ellis said. “And, it’s helped me through the years as I’ve been coaching here at Wood County Christian School.

“I enjoyed playing ball at Fort Frye. It was a great experience and I had a lot of fun.”

After high school, Ellis attended Ashland University. Soon after college, he married LaTrelle (Newsome), and was employed at Elkem Metals (now Eramet) for several years.

Thanks to his friendship with WCCS principal Robert Smith, Ellis became involved with the Wildcat basketball program about the mid-1990s.

“He’d asked me to work with his boys a little bit,” Ellis recalled. “Then, I came here to the school full time in December of 1999.”

With Ellis providing the guidance on and off the court, the WCCS boys’ basketball program prospered. During his 22 years at the helm, the Wildcats posed 384 wins, and claimed nine WVCEA (West Virginia Christian Education Association) championships (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2010, and 2012.).

During the 1997-98 campaign, the Wood County Christian School Wildcats were national champions.

“All those championships have been special,” Ellis said. “It’s been a blessing and I feel like the success we’ve had at the school has been a by-product of the success of Wood County Christian School. It’s just an excellent school. Parents don’t send their kids here to play basketball. They send them here for a good education. I’ve been blessed, and coached a lot of good players.”

Said new WCCS girls’ basketball coach AG Harris, “Dan Ellis is a super guy. What a role model. What a leader. What a disciple he is. He’s phenomenal.”

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