By Lindsey Peltier
For The Montgomery Herald
MONTGOMERY —
After a highly-decorated coaching career, WVU Tech’s Jim Fout has hung up his coaching whistle. “I know in my heart that it is time. I’m going to miss it, but I know it’s time,” Fout said last week. “I have been fortunate to have put in six great years here at Tech, four with the men’s program and two now with the women; all with great people who really made me feel appreciated.” When Fout took over the women’s program two seasons ago, he inherited a team that had graduated 13 seniors from a squad that went 12-19 overall. Just three players from the 2007-08 squad joined the Golden Bears in Fout’s first season at the helm in 2008-09, two which had averaged under 10 minutes a game the previous year. “When I took this position I had three goals in mind,” said Fout. “One of those goals was to leave the program in a better position to be more successful than when I found it. Another was to recruit a team so the next head coach of this program would have a good foundation to build real success and be competitive night in and night out. The third was to create something concrete for the girls to be proud of immediately. With the help of numerous donors, we remodeled the women’s locker room and purchased three TVs, three VCR/DVD players, a DVD burner and a camera.” During his tenure with the women, Fout made great progress towards all three of his goals. The women’s locker room was remodeled before Tech played its first game in the 2008-09 season, thanks to the help of Fout’s friends and family as well as financial support from the Joe and Freda Fish Fund. In Fout’s first season, though players were scarce and despite winning just two games, the Bears displayed perseverance and character and earned the Mid- South’s Champions of Character representative to the NAIA. This past season, the roster size swelled from just five at the end of the season a year ago to 12 who finished the 2009-10 campaign — eight of which were freshmen. This year’s team won 10 games, including its first league victory in two seasons, and Shyla Jones was chosen for the MSC all-conference first team. “We are very fortunate and appreciative of coach Fout’s time here at Tech,” said Frank Pergolizzi, Tech’s athletics director. “He has done a great job in improving and setting up the women’s basketball program to move forward with a better foundation for a successful future.” (Peltier is the WVU Tech sports information director).