EAST PRAIRIE - After seven years at the helm of the boys basketball team at East Prairie, Jason Irby has decided to step down as head coach.
Irby has accepted a heading coaching position at Lovington High School in Lovington, Ill.
Lovington is approximately a 30-minute drive from Decatur, Ill. and is close to Irby's hometown of Charleston, Ill.
"This opportunity will be closer to our families in Illinois," said Irby. "This job will be only 30 minutes away from my parents. They are getting older and my wife and I have a small child, so I would just like to get closer to home. This move is strictly for my family. I had the same opportunity a couple of years ago, but I turned it down. Now, it just seemed right to make the move and get closer to family."
Irby complied a 61-103 record in his tenure as head coach at East Prairie. Irby led the Eagles to their best record in years in the 2004-05 season going 18
-10. Last season, the Eagles finished a respectable 12-13.
"I just hate to leave," said Irby. "They have some talented kids coming back next year and they will do all right. There are a lot of good people in East Prairie. I am going to be leaving some good friends. That is what I am going to miss the most, the kids and the people I worked with everyday."