Congratulations to the 2016-17 Bob King Award winners as Girls' Coaches of the Year.

District 1

Ryan Myers, Kankakee Valley

Ryan Myers is an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year after directing Kankakee Valley to a 22-2 season that included the championship of the Northwest Crossroads Conference.

Myers just completed his eighth season as varsity coach at KV, his alma mater, compiling a 120-60 record in that span with one sectional title (2014) and two conference crowns (2016 and 2017).

The coach is a 1997 graduate of Kankakee Valley, and he played basketball for the Kougars. He went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Manchester University in 2001, then earned a master’s degree in educational administration from Ball State in 2016.

Myers began his coaching career as a girls basketball assistant for four seasons at Kankakee Valley. He became the team’s head coach in 2009-10 and has had seven winning seasons.

He was named The Times of Northwest Indiana Coach of the Year in 2017 and chosen the Northwest Crossroads Conference Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017. He also has been selected to be an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

Myers has been a first-grade teacher at DeMotte Elementary for 16 years.

He and his wife, Johanne, have four children – Hayden, 14; Madilyn, 12; Avery, 8; and Brody, 6.

Doug Springer, Northridge

Doug Springer is a District 1 Coach of the Year after guiding Northridge to a 28-2 campaign that included sectional, regional and Northern Lakes Conference championships.

Springer is 171-67 in 10 seasons with the Raiders, and he has a 223-85 record in 13 seasons as a girls’ varsity coach.

The coach is a 1997 graduate of Carroll (Flora), where he competed in football, basketball and track. He played on a football team that was a Class A state champion as a junior and state runner-up as a senior. He was team MVP in basketball as a senior.

Springer attended Wabash College, playing football there for four years and earning his bachelor’s degree. He followed by earning a law degree from Valparaiso University in 2004 and a master’s degree in sports administration from VU in 2005.

Springer began his coaching career as a girls’ basketball assistant for three seasons at Wheeler while attending law school. He became the Wheeler head coach in 2004, guiding the Bearcats to a 52-18 record, two sectional titles and three Lake Athletic Conference (Blue Division) crowns in three seasons.

He then moved to Northridge, where his teams have posted two sectional titles (2014 and 2017), one regional title (2017) and three NLC championships (2014, 2016 and 2017).

Springer previously was an IBCA District 1 Coach of the Year in 2011. He was voted ICGSA District 2 Coach of the Yar in 2010, and he was selected Goshen News All-Area Coach of the Year in 2016 and 2017. In addition, he was chosen LAC Coach of the Year in 2005, 2006 and 2007 as well as NLC Coach of the Year in 2014, 2016 and 2017.

Springer, who teaches honors/dual credit U.S. History at Northridge, was an assistant coach for the 2010 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

He and his wife, Alice, have three children – Dylan, 10; Landyn, 5; and Addison, 3.

District 2

Kathie Layden, Northwestern

Kathie Layden is an IBCA District 2 Coach of the Year after leading Northwestern to a 22-4 season that included a sectional championship and runner-up finish in the Hoosier Conference Tournament.

She has compiled a 69-44 ledger in five seasons with the Tigers and has a career record of 251-144 over 17 seasons, including 11 years at Tri-Central and one year at Western.

Layden is a 1994 graduate of Taylor High School, where she played four years each of varsity basketball, volleyball and tennis. She received a basketball scholarship to the University of Evansville, playing four years of basketball and one year of tennis for the Purple Aces.

She began her coaching career in 1998-99 at Tri-Central as an assistant coach. She became the Trojans’ head coach the next season, guiding the program to a 171-90 mark that included four sectional titles, three regional titles, three semistate titles and three Class A state crowns (2003, 2004 and 2005).

Layden moved to Western for one season in 2010-11, leading the Panthers to an 11-10 mark. She did not coach for one year, then took over at Northwestern beginning in 2012-13. Her Tigers have been .500 or better all five seasons.

Layden was a coach in the North-South Indiana All-Star Classic in 2004, and she was an assistant coach for the Indiana All-Stars in 2006. She was inducted into the Howard County Hall of Fame in 2010.

She currently teaches eighth-grade health and physical education at Northwestern Middle School.

Layden and her husband, Jeff, have two daughters – Madison, 15, and McKenna, 12.

DeeAnn Ramey, North Central

DeeAnn Ramey is a District 2 Coach of the Year after guiding North Central to a 27-1 season that included sectional, Marion County Tournament and Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference championships. Her Panthers were ranked No. 1 in the state for most of the season, ranked as high as No. 2 nationally and finished the season No. 9 nationally according to the MaxPreps computer rankings.

Ramey is 100-41 in six seasons as coach of the Panthers and 180-101 in 13 seasons as a girls’ varsity coach, including seven seasons at Richmond. Overall, her teams have won three sectionals (1991, 2012, 2017), one regional (2012), one semistate (2012) and one state crown (2012).

She has been named an assistant coach for the 2017 Indiana Junior All-Stars.

Ramey is a 1980 graduate of Mooresville High School, where she earned four letters each in basketball, volleyball and track. In basketball, she helped the Pioneers to three sectional titles, three regional titles and one semistate title (in 1978). In April 1980, Ramey played for an all-star group that played a Minnesota All-Star team. Ramey was inducted into the Mooresville Athletic Hall of Fame in 2001.

Ramey went on to Marian University, where she played basketball for four seasons and volleyball for one while earning a degree in secondary education in 1984. She received a master’s degree in education in 1989 from IUPUI.

She began her work career at Roncalli in 1984, teaching math and serving three seasons each as a girls basketball assistant, a volleyball assistant and a track assistant. Ramey returned to Mooresville in 1987-88 as a math teacher and three-sport assistant coach, then moved to Richmond where she was an assistant in basketball and track for two years and a volleyball assistant for three.

Ramey became the Red Devils’ varsity girls’ basketball coach in 1990-91, guiding the team to an 80-60 record over seven seasons that included one sectional title.

She moved to North Central for the 1997-98 school year, assisting the varsity girls basketball program for three years, coaching a seventh-grade team for one year and guiding the NC freshman team for one before getting out of coaching for several years to have more time with her family.

Ramey was appointed the North Central head coach in 2011-12, leading the team to the 2012 Class 4A state championship and five winning seasons over the past six years.

Over her career, Ramey worked with the Indiana All-Stars from 1984-89 as a team manager, coached a Miss Basketball (Lisa Shepherd, 1997), four other All-Stars, three Junior All-Stars and one IHSAA Mental Attitude Award winner (Rachael Gregory, 2012). She was just the second female to participate in the girls basketball State Finals as a player (1978 with Mooresville) and as a head coach (2012 with North Central).

Ramey and her husband, Donald Monroe, have one daughter – Taylor, a junior at North Central.

District 3

Johnnie Bartley, Wood Memorial

Johnnie Bartley is an IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year after guiding Wood Memorial to a 28-1 season that included the Class A state championship. The title came in a 68-43 triumph over Union City. The team also claimed its first Blue Chip Conference title in 16 seasons in the league.

In 19 seasons with the Lady Trojans, Bartley’s teams have compiled a 234-231 record. His teams have won 10 sectionals, two regionals, two semistates and also were the 2007 Class A state runners-up.

He also was chosen HBCA District 2 Coach of the Year for 2017.

Bartley is a 1998 Wood Memorial graduate who earned his bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana University in 1995. He received his master’s degree in administration from Oakland City University in 2006.

Bartley competed in football, basketball and track & field in high school. He also competed in track and field as a high jumper at IU, being part of five Big Ten champion teams.

He teaches 7th Grade and 10th Grade geography for the East Gibson School Corp.

Bartley and his wife, Jennifer, have four children – Chloe, Katie, Paxon and Hannah.

Mike McBride, Eastern (Pekin)

Mike McBride is an IBCA District 3 Coach of the Year in girls’ basketball after guiding Eastern (Pekin) to a 23-7 record, including the 2017 Class 2A state championship in a 42-31 victory over Oak Hill.

McBride has completed 10 seasons as varsity girls’ basketball coach at Eastern and is 145-85 with the Lady Musketeers. This season, his team won the school’s first state championship in any sport.

During his career, McBride’s teams have claimed one Mid-Southern Conference title and two sectional championships. He also served as varsity boys coach at Borden for four seasons from 2002-2006 and was a girls’ basketball assistant coach for one season at Henryville.

McBride has been named head coach of the 2017 Indiana Girls Junior All-Stars.

McBride is a 1986 graduate of Charlestown High School, where he played football, basketball, and baseball. He continued his baseball career at Greenville (Ill.) College and earned his bachelor’s degree in physical education in 1991. He completed a master’s degree in physical education in 1993 from Eastern Illinois University. McBride teaches health and physical education at Eastern High School.

Prior to becoming a high school coach, McBride was a college basketball coach for nine years – three years as men’s assistant, one year as women’s head coach and one year as men’s head coach at Missouri Baptist plus four years as a men’s assistant at Brescia.

McBride and his wife, Noelle, have been married for 22 years. They have 10-year old twin daughters – Grace and Sarah.