NEW BLOOMFIELD - Brett Craighead had reached the point where he no longer had the desire to make the required investment.
Craighead recently announced he is resigning as girls head basketball coach at New Bloomfield. He broke even during his tenure with the Lady Wildcats, compiling a 171-171 overall record in 13 seasons.
"Sometimes it's just too long - it's time for a change," the 53-year-old Craighead said. "It's a younger person's job. There's a lot of stress involved - it takes a lot of energy and a lot of time.
"I want to kind of regroup."
Craighead led New Bloomfield to district championships in 2014 and 2017, reaching the Class 2 quarterfinals in 2017. The Lady Wildcats also shared the Show-Me Conference title with Fatima in the 2015-16 season.
"One, (I enjoyed) the competition, and two, building relationships with the kids and seeing them grow," Craighead said. "We had lots of very good kids, not just good basketball players, and they were very smart.
"I was lucky in that sense."
A 1985 New Bloomfield High School graduate, Craighead has spent his entire coaching career at the school. He was an assistant baseball and boys basketball coach from 1992-95.
"That's all I've ever known," Craighead said. "I want New Bloomfield to do well and I've been part of some pretty good teams. I wanted to continue to create some pride for our teams."
Craighead is not leaving New Bloomfield. He will continue to teach alternative school, credit recovery and supervise in-school suspension at the high school. Craighead can officially retire in 5-6 years.
Craighead won't rule out the possibility of returning to coaching in the future, but he is content to step away from the sideline for now.
"I don't ever want to say never," Craighead said. "After two or three years, I'll see if I miss it. You don't ever know what opportunities are going to come up.
"I'm going to go and enjoy watching games. I'm satisfied with my decision."