Hall of Fame honor put Brashear in bind

Longtime wrestling coach had to pick which of his schools to share award.

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By John Bombatch, Staff Writer 1:53 AM Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Weeks before last week’s induction into the Southwestern Ohio Wrestling Coaches Association Hall of Fame, longtime area wrestling coach Tim Brashear fretted about his loyalties to his former schools.

A 1978 graduate, student-athlete and former coach in the Lakota school system, and a coach for six years at Monroe High and then eight years at Hamilton High after that, Brashear had one plaque to keep, and another to give to one of the schools in recognition of his induction.

“It was a hard decision, but I went with Monroe. I truly believe the only reason I was nominated was for everything I did at Monroe,” Brashear said Friday.

“Before I was there, Monroe had maybe three district qualifiers in their school history. We were averaging 10 qualifiers a year, and we won a league title a couple times. Before that, Monroe was always dead last. And I graduated from Lakota, and had several state placers at Hamilton, but everything I did at Monroe is what got me this award, and I’m truly honored.”

Brashear said he called each school and explained why he had made his decision.

“I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. As a head coach at Hamilton, I was just very fortunate over the years. Different wrestlers that I coached for over 24 years, I’ve been able to stay in contact with a lot of them. There’s a lot of great memories in my career. A lot of great friends,” he said.

Brashear, 51, is set to retire from his job as supervisor and engineer of the Lebanon Correctional Facility’s powerhouse on Jan. 31.

He and his wife of nearly two years, Vickie, live in Maineville along with Vickie’s son, Eric, 26, and 13-year-old daughter, Alyssa.

Brashear’s sons from a previous marriage — Tim, 22 and Zach, 19 — live in Lebanon.

Tim and Vickie are currently in training to become foster parents.

Brashear was nominated for the hall of fame by a former wrestler of his, current Hamilton High varsity wrestling coach Nick Hensley.

Hensley wrestled for Brashear at Monroe.

Contact this reporter at (513) 705-2851 or jbombatch@coxohio.com.

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