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It was Feb. 27, 2013, and my first full basketball season as this newspaper’s sports editor was nearly complete.
Two days earlier, my Monday Morning Point Guard “Dishing the Weekly Dime” column was published.
I would often mix pop culture and sports in my columns, so I decided to link high school basketball with the Academy Awards.
I gave out fake Oscars for a variety of categories, including Best Director, aka “Coach of the Year.”
I included seven nominees but ultimately settled on Boyd County’s Randy Anderson.
Boyd County-Russell was a first-round 16th Region Tournament matchup in Morehead on the 27th.
I was actually off that evening and was in Lexington for a Kentucky basketball game.
The Red Devils, coached by Merle Kidwell, beat the Lions, 77-69.
Merely minutes after the horn sounded, I received a three-word text from Coach Kidwell.
“Director got beat,” it read.
I laughed and thought, wow, that’s so Merle. I’ve encountered very few people with as much competitive fire as that man.
Merle “The Pearl” Kidwell died on Tuesday at age 56 after a tough battle with cancer, and the local sports community just won’t be the same.
When Merle coached, he coached to win, and he absolutely despised losing.
That’s why I was really sweating bullets when a local school’s former athletic director caught me on the hardwood directly after a region tournament game that Kidwell’s Devils had just lost.
The AD was complaining about something I’d written in the paper, but it just wasn’t the appropriate time for that conversation.
There was no way I was going to catch Kidwell if I didn’t hurry, because I didn’t think he was going to give a lick about talking to The Daily Independent after falling short in Morehead.
But that’s when I didn’t know him too well yet.
While he did loathe losing, he always carved out time for the media … and he was more cordial each time we interacted.
We often joked in the newsroom about how his quotes would be eerily similar to John Calipari’s. He just absorbed so much sports media, especially UK basketball, that it was bound to happen.
He was extremely passionate about the players he coached. He wanted them to be winners on the court and in life.
In my first season a sports writer here — 2007-08 — Kidwell led the Lady Devils on the sideline. In late February 2008, Kidwell’s bunch trailed Lewis County — his alma mater — 28-7 at halftime in the opening round of the 63rd District Tournament at Greenup County High School.
A fired-up Kidwell motivated Russell to an unforgettable comeback as the Lady Devils prevailed, 51-42.
“Our girls just never gave up,” Kidwell told me that night. “I told them to try to get it down to 10 after three quarters. They did and then they started to believe.”
I enjoyed covering Russell’s girls and then later the boys when Kidwell patrolled the sideline. When he’d get amped up, he would turn about 40 shades of red and you’d just sit back and wonder how much patience the officials had that particular night. I’m pretty sure I saw a few T’s go Kidwell’s direction. He was not easy on the black and white stripes, but there was definitely mutual respect (most of the time).
I saw a different side of Merle in 2011 when I penned a feature on Nick Zambos, the Red Devils’ senior manager with Down syndrome.
The fiery coach was in tears talking about Nick’s big moment — when he played on Senior Night. Zambos scored four points against Menifee County.
“I really believe that God puts people in your life that can teach you things,” Kidwell said then. “Nick has taught our team about unselfishness and humility. Everybody on our team considers Nick a part of the team.”
Kidwell coached at Russell for 16 years, including four as a boys assistant, five as the girls’ head coach and seven leading the boys. Russell didn’t renew his contract after the 2014-15 season.
He was a well-respected English teacher as well, and even when he finished up his time in education, he didn’t steer away from sports. He served as an assistant coach at Greenup County and then later became a freelancer for the newspaper and worked in radio and for My Town TV.
Merle married Mandy when he was coaching the boys, and we all kind of noticed a renewed joy in him.
He had a zest for life and loved his family. He adored his favorite sports teams — the Reds, Bengals and Wildcats — and he was always in the know regarding local sports news. He was a tremendous source and would frequently give us news tips. His information was usually spot-on.
We’ll miss Merle as a coach, a source and a writer, but most of all as a friend.
Our prayers go out to his wife, children, dad Gary, mother Alice, siblings and other family members and friends.
Reach AARON SNYDER at asnyder@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2664.
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