Published: June 23, 2009 11:09 pm      

Fairview goes with veteran coach

WESTWOOD — Fairview is filling its vacant girls head coaching job with experience.

George Bellamy, who has been coaching basketball for 30 years, takes over the program after Mandy Layne left to become Russell’s girls head coach.

Bellamy is familiar with 16th Region fans after coaching Morgan County’s boys and girls for a combined 20 years. He’s also been an assistant girls’ coach at Montgomery County and Paintsville and for the past two years has been the boys’ head coach at Jackson.

Bellamy, 50, is only five victories shy of 300 in his career. He led the Cougars’ boys team to a region runner-up finish in 1986 and he took the girls’ team to the regional semifinals in 1998 and 1999.

Bellamy is retired from teaching but works as a minister at Cavanaugh United Methodist Church, which is on the Boyd County-Lawrence County line.

He’s looking forward to rolling up his sleeves and working with girls’ basketball again.

“Right after they (the church) assigned me there, Mandy went to Russell,” Bellamy said. “I was going to call Russell but the Fairview job came open. I talked to Rex (Cooksey) first and he told me Garry (McPeek) was the principal. Things just worked out.”

Bellamy will be coaching the middle school and high school girls’ teams.

“When they interviewed me, they asked ‘What’s your coaching style?’’’ Bellamy said. “I told them ‘Whatever it takes to win.’ This will be 30 years (coaching) for me and I’ve not been at powerhouse schools. I’ve seen every type of team.”

Bellamy said coming to Fairview brings him full circle in his coaching career. His first game as a head coach was at Fairview’s gym in the Northeastern Kentucky Conference tournament when the Cougars defeated Raceland. They followed that up with a win over Bill Mike Runyon’s Paintsville team in the semifinals and then won the title over Lawrence County.

“I’m still old-fashioned and Fairview High School is the closest thing to old school that’s left. The people bond there. I can go back to (George) Cooke and Bob Morrison, who was like a second dad to me.”

Bellamy, who graduated from Morgan County in 1976, said Morrison told him he could come and live in his house. “I thought the world of that man,” he said.

Morrison, a longtime teacher and administrator in Fairview schools, died last fall.

Bellamy takes over a Fairview team that finished 9-18 last season.

MARK MAYNARD can be reached at mmaynard@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2648.