On January 9, 2023 Coach Don Hertler submitted his intent to retire from coaching. Coach Hertler has decided to call it a career after spending the last few years at Conotton Valley.
Hertler has had a Hall of Fame career. He is a member of the Ohio High School Football Coach’s Hall of Fame. He has been around the Stark and Tuscarawas county area for his entire life, serving the North Canton Hoover, Garaway, and Conotton Valley communities.
The eighth-winningest coach in Stark County history, Hertler originally called it a career after compiling a 136-75 record at North Canton Hoover in 2015. He won 202 games overall in 27 years as a head coach at Hoover after a successful stint at Garaway and before that as an assistant under John Dean at Conotton Valley in 1985-86. At Garaway, he guided the Pirates to a 10-0 regular season and a playoff appearance in 1994. He was in Sugarcreek from 1987 to 1994, going 66-15 and winning four Inter-Valley Conference titles. He left Garaway to become the offensive coordinator at Massillon for a season before taking over the Hoover post in 1996.
During his first stint at Conotton Valley as offensive coordinator, the Rockets went 8-2 in 1985 and posted a 10-0 regular season record and qualified for the postseason in 1986. After leaving Hoover, Hertler got the itch to coach again and served as an assistant to Garaway grad John Fankhauser at Walsh University in 2019. The Rockets have experienced success under coach Hertler going to the playoffs in all 3 seasons. While in his 2nd stint at Conotton, Coach guided the rockets to a 16-14 record.
Superintendent John Zucal had the following to say “We are grateful for the contributions Coach Hertler has made to our football program. It seems only fitting that he ends his career in the place it all began. I am confident the entire Conotton Valley community joins with me in wishing Coach Hertler all the very best in his retirement.”
“Moving forward, we are confident we will be able to attract a quality coach who will take our program to new heights. Our facilities are elite and the Board of Education is committed to employing a head coach who will develop our young people in the classroom, weightroom, and on the playing field. I am excited about the possibilities that exist and the potential to create one of the premier small school programs in the state of Ohio,” Zucal stated.
Athletic Director Jonathon Stuck stated, “I am proud to have worked with Coach Hertler for the past several years here at Conotton Valley. Coach has laid a foundation here at CV that should help to ensure success as our student-athletes continue to grow.” Mr. Stuck added that Conotton will begin their search for a new coach immediately and any interest or applications can be submitted to [email protected].