After leading the Bradford boys basketball team through the most unique season in program history, Chuck Bell has decided to step away from head coaching duties.
Bell, who oversaw the Owls’ 8-11 finish last year in his first season at the helm, cited family reasons as a driving force behind his decision. With two young children, Bell felt that post-pandemic life called for more time at home.
“Obviously, a very tough decision, but one where I definitely think I put my family as a priority,” Bell said. “I have two young kids that I only have one opportunity to see grow up, so I want to be there for all of that.”
As Bell noted, running a basketball program is a full-time, year-round commitment. Summer workouts, offseason leagues and fall activities extend the season far beyond the winter months.
“(In 2019), my daughter had played indoor soccer throughout the winter,” Bell said. “This past year, a lot of the community stuff wasn’t happening, so I wasn’t missing any activities or events or anything. Looking like everything will be back up and running this winter, she’s involved in things, and I can make those trips to her practices without having to juggle a schedule and make things work.”
Bell said that his wife, Heather, along with six-year-old Tenley and three-year-old Liam, provided support that made life as head coach easy. Nevertheless, stepping away after a season had been an option from the start.
“When I accepted the position, I had said that it may just be a one-year thing,” Bell said. “They needed a coach right at the beginning of the season; there were only a few weeks before the season started that they actually did interviews.”
Bell had spent the previous decade with the program, becoming acquainted with the current Owls varsity squad while coaching them across different levels.
The senior leadership that the team featured a season ago, he said, drew him to the vacant varsity job.
“I loved it. I love those kids,” Bell said. “They’re a fantastic group and I think they have a bright future, a bright season ahead. The relationships you build with those kids and the time you spend, the bond with those kids. And, hopefully, the impact that you have on them.”
John Benardi will take over the program, as Bradford begins preparation for the 2021-’22 season by playing in the Salamanca Summer League. That eight-team circuit, which features six teams from New York and two from Pennsylvania, (Bradford and Otto-Eldred) will play on Tuesdays and Wednesdays preceding an Aug. 10 championship.
For Bell, the competition and camaraderie that came with coaching will be missed. He’ll miss coaching against his brother, Steve, who took over at Otto-Eldred last season, and expressed gratitude toward Bradford’s administration and his coaching peers.
If an opportunity were to arise at the right time for Bell, he would consider coaching again.
“I’m very thankful for the opportunity that I had to work with those kids for a season,” Bell said. “Hopefully I had a positive impact on them, and I know they helped me grow in different ways. I found out things about myself about where I want to be.”
