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HAMILTON — When Larry Allen announced his retirement last week after 11 years as the Hamilton High School boys basketball coach, he, unlike most coaches, didn't cite the desire to spend more time with his family as the prevailing reason.

Allen certainly plans to do just that, but perhaps the reason he didn't voice it is because it would have seemed contradictory.

While retirement will give him a chance to spend more time with his wife, Melanie, daughters Heather and Holly, and son, Billy, it will drive him away from the other members of his family — his players.

"I've always thought of this team, these players, this whole program as family, as part of my own family," Allen said. "My family has bled blue for so long now, I'm not sure what we're going to do now.

"That was the toughest part of this whole thing, looking at my No. 1 teammate, my wife, and telling her my decision because this job was a dream for both of us," Allen said. "She refused to type my resignation letter at first, but she finally broke down and did it for me."

The Hamilton basketball program is like any close family, where the youngsters stay in touch long after leaving the nest. Melanie still talks to a number of the former players on a regular basis, either laughing and catching up with them when they call, or chastising them when they don't.

As news of Allen's retirement spread, the calls started pouring in. One of the first to ring the Allen household was Adam Myers-White, a 2005 graduate who will be a senior on the University of Tennessee football team this fall.

"They're a very care-giving family," Myers-White said. "Coach Allen loves that program, and he loves the players. And we love him.

"The year we won state (2004), all five guys in the starting lineup came from single-parent homes, all of them moms, too," Myers-White said. "He was a father figure to all of us."

"I consider myself very fortunate to have played for him," said Andy Mignery, a 1999 grad who went on to play football at the University of Michigan after playing for Allen's first HHS team in 1997-98.

"The players all liked playing for him," Mignery said. "He always had a knack for being a player's coach."

Jason Miller, a 2005 grad who is playing basketball at Columbia University, also was one of the starting five on that championship team.

"I remember going to his office a lot just to talk," Miller said. "When you weren't in the gym, he was more than just a coach. He was someone you could talk to about anything, from school to basketball to girls."

Referring to a team as family is nothing new or unusual, of course. Just about every coach in every sport tries to take that approach. But with Allen and Big Blue, it went to another level. And it was something other coaches noticed.

"The thing that really stands out to me was his dedication and commitment to his players," Oak Hills coach Mike Price said. "He was always advocating the players. He never put the blame on them for anything that happened.

"And the year he won state was one of the best coaching jobs I've seen in a long time," Price said. "Yes, he had a really good team, but I don't think anyone really expected that to happen early on. But the way he molded and developed and brought those guys together as the season went on, that was really impressive."

Allen insists that even in retirement, he's going to be just as supportive of the Big Blue family as ever. "The only thing that's changing is my letterhead," he said.

"This was a tough decision, but it was one I had to make," Allen said. "But I'm glad I can do it in a positive way. Too many people end up sticking around too long, and it ends up being a negative thing. But there's not an ounce in my body that feels anything negative about Hamilton High."

How could there be when you're talking about family?

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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