The Wright City School District is on the hunt for a new varsity boys basketball coach.

Mark Scacewater recently announced he was stepping down after two seasons as head coach. His resignation was approved during the school board meeting held last Thursday.

Scacewater will be returning to Orlando, Fla., to pursue an opportunity at a high school where he was an assistant before being hired at Wright City in the summer of 2008.

He led the Wildcats to a 11-39 mark over two seasons, losing in the district opener each time.

Scacewater also taught advanced social studies courses and was an assistant with the football team during his first year in the district.

He says concerns over whether his job would still be intact during the 2010-11 season prompted him to seek alternate employment.

“My decision to leave had nothing to do with basketball and everything to do with job security as a teacher,” asserted Scacewater. “I signed a contract in April, but in mid-May the superintendent told my department they could not guarantee anyone’s teaching position for the next year due to budget issues . . . Being the newest teacher in my department, I felt I would be someone who might get cut, so I had to look elsewhere.”

The chance to return to a traditionally successful larger program in a warmer climate lured Scacewater back to the Sunshine State.

“I knew if I moved so late in the process I wouldn’t be a head coach so I looked for a teaching position I knew I would enjoy at a school I was familiar with,” he explained.

Scacewater says he will miss the crop of athletes he has become accustomed to working with over the past few seasons.

“I will definitely miss the guys on the team the most, especially the off-court stuff like pregame talks,” said Scacewater. “In a small school you see your players every day, and it was great to have a quality group of players like Shakar, Deon, Nathan, Zac, Mike, Brandon and Brent. Whether it was in school or practice, they always had a great attitude, and it was an honor to be able to coach those guys.”

Scacewater points to a few particular games in which the Wildcats excelled.

“Our biggest accomplishments were wins each of the past two seasons over a 20-win Christian High team,” said Scacewater. “This year in particular was great because we made it to the championship of the Winfield Tournament.”

Scacewater’s decision to leave was complicated by the timing of his announcement, as it provides the school with limited time to find a new leader.

Wright City High School Principal Shawn Brown says the school is going to move quickly in its transition and plans to have new leadership in place by Friday.

“Through the process of interviewing candidates for the open teaching position and taking a look at possible internal candidates, we hope to have a head coach in place by the end of the week,” said Brown.

While Scacewater’s resignation from coaching was not formally reviewed until last Thursday, his teaching vacancy has been listed for nearly a month.

“The social studies job has been posted since the end of June and we accepted applications through July 9,” informed Brown. “We will be interviewing candidates for the teaching job this week.”

The district has already filled vacant girls basketball and volleyball coaching roles during this offseason.

Both individuals chosen to assume those positions were in-house hires.

The school has struggled to keep coaches on board, as Scacewater was the fourth boys basketball coach in six years.

The new coach will have the task of trying to restore the program to prominence. The Wildcats have not won a district title since 1987. Wright City’s last winning campaign was in 2007 when they finished 23-5, losing to Bowling Green in the district championship.

“I enjoyed my time at Wright City and especially want to thank Mr. Brown and Dr. Hogenmiller for allowing me to coach and teach at Wright City,” said Scacewater.