Doug Henwood (2014)
About Doug Henwood
Doug Henwood served on the boys’ staff at Lancaster High School beginning in 1973 as the throws coach and put the Gales on the map in field events with eight individuals performing between 57’ and 67’ in the shot put and seven athletes ranging from 160’ to 198’ in the discus. In 1992, when Doug took over as the head girls coach at Lancaster, the impact was immediate. Over the next 17 years, his teams went on to win 12 Conference Championships, 12 District Champion titles, 3 Regional Runner-up titles, 3 Regional Championships, and a State Runner-up title. Additionally, his teams finished in the top 10 three other times. A six time Conference Coach of the Year, six time Central District Coach of the Year, and the 1999 OHSAA Sportsman- ship, Ethics, and Integrity Award winner, Doug was recognized in 2005 as the Fred Dafler Track and Field Career Coach of the Year. Throughout the course of his career, athletes reached the podium and earned All-Ohio honors 37 times with eight of those winning individual State Championship titles. These included Barry Walker in the shot put and the discus, Sean Whittington in the shot put, Heather Powers (shot put and discus), and two-time State Champion in the shot put, Nicole Kendrick. Additionally, Alyssa Gossel won the pole vault and Alexis Lape won the 300IH. A true gentle giant, Doug was hard to pick out at track meets as he was content to remain in the background and allow his athletes to showcase their talents. Having taught for 35 years and coached for 30 years, Doug was planning on continuing to coach following the 2008 school year, but unexpectedly passed away prior to the end of the season. For those of us who knew him, his personal character alone would have placed him in the Hall of Fame and this posthumous honor is more than deserved.
