For all the reverence Jay Osborne has earned throughout his Nixa career as a coach with a reputation of being all business courtside, he doesn’t get enough credit for his quick wit.
Upon confirming this season will be his finale as the Eagles’ coach, Osborne candidly admitted how grateful he has been to be coaching at Nixa for 30 seasons.
“It’s sad to say but I can’t really do a lot of things,” he said. “I can’t build houses, I can’t do woodwork, I can’t work on engines or any skills like those. I coach, that’s really all I do.”
What kind of field would he had got into if he hadn’t got into coaching?
“I probably would have been in trouble,” Osborne quipped.
Osborne won’t be giving a retirement speech anytime soon. He has every intention of staying in coaching. He isn’t sure where that will be, but said he could follow the same path as former Nixa football coach Joel Wells and cross over to Arkansas or possibly make a return to his native Kansas.
“It doesn’t make much sense to continue coaching and teaching,” Osborne said, while making reference to maxing out for retirement benefits after reaching 30-plus years in Missouri Public Schools. “It’s never been about the money. But you would basically be doing it kind of for free, (other) than health insurance. Financially, it makes sense to look at different options.
“I like doing what I’m doing. But it’s time for me to move on and find something different,” he added. “I don’t think my coaching days are over. I’m hoping I’ll have the opportunity to do that again soon. I’d like to stay in the coaching business or something in athletics. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find something like that. I feel like I have the energy and have something to give back to the game. In what capacity that will be, I don’t know.
For the first time, he looks to his future with uncertainty.
“It’s kind of scary knowing I might do something different or go somewhere else because I love my job here,” he said. “Making a change is nerve wracking. But it will work out, something will come up.”
Osborne’s resume is headlined by a 1999 Class 3A state championship, three Final Four berths, 12 District titles, seven Blue & Gold Tournament championships and a 647-242 career W-L record.
He has led Nixa to a 584-226 mark since 1992. Previously, he piloted Pleasant Hope to a 51-7 record in two seasons and led Solomon, Kansas, to a 12-9 mark.
Once word of Osborne’s upcoming resignation at Nixa was announced last week, his phone lit up with congratulatory calls and text messages.
“It’s nice to hear from former players, other head coaches and family and friends,” Osborne said as former Eagle Chase Allen sent him a text from Iowa State. “People have been really nice.”
Osborne nearly came to the decision to change his work address a year ago.
“I contemplated this last year. But something didn’t feel right,” he said. “But starting this school year, something felt right about making this my last year at Nixa. It’s a good decision and the right decision.”
Osborne has interviewed elsewhere during his tenure at Nixa, but was never offered a position that could lead him elsewhere.
“I’ve looked at moving a couple times and have interviewed at some places. Fate, karma or whatever you want to call it, it never seemed to work out,” he said. “I either didn’t get the job because I wasn’t the best candidate or maybe I was too old or for a while maybe I was too young. But it never seemed to pan out.”
Also, like countless coaches, he pursued the administrative route, but doesn’t think he did so whole-heartedly.
“Maybe some people didn’t think I would be a good administrator, I don’t know,” Osborne said. “Maybe I didn’t pursue those administrative dreams with the passion I should have. Maybe I’m not administrative material. Maybe it’s a blessing I didn’t get them because I got to continue to coach. It’s a whole different mindset and a whole different animal. My passion has always been coaching.”
During Osborne’s Nixa career, the school’s enrollment has tripled and he’s worked with five athletic directors, four principals and four superintendents.
“I’ve worked for great administrators and the board has been very good to me,” Osborne said. “We’ve had great players come through here and most of the time our parents have been fantastic. It’s been a great place to coach basketball.
“Thirty years in one place, it’s cool to say that, but part of me is like, ‘That’s a long time,’” he added. “I was fortunate to get this job in 1992 and be able to survive some dark days in the 90s. It got really good in the late 90s and it’s propelled from there. We’ve been as consistent as anyone around, as far as success. My career here has been very rewarding. It’s been a blessing.”
Osborne will be replaced by 19-year Nixa assistant Brock Blansit.
“It’s a good decision for them to hire Brock,” Osborne said. “He’s been one of the best assistants anybody could ask for. He’s had opportunities to move on and establish his own program. He deserves the opportunity to move over one chair and give his best efforts in a different role. I fully trust he’s going to continue what we built together. I think everything is set for our program to continue to get better.”
Osborne doesn’t anticipate being overwhelmed by feelings of nostalgia this season.
“I won’t think about this being my last season at Nixa hardly at all,” he said. “The burning desire to compete is still there. All that other stuff is just fluff. It will be emotional at times. But the desire to compete will overcome that emotional sadness.”
