Billy Martin, who built the North Oldham High School football program into a consistent winner, announced Monday that he has stepped down as head coach.
The 46-year-old Martin said he needs to step away from coaching in order to take care of his father, who lives in Henderson, Kentucky, and has encountered health problems.
“I’m his primary care giver, and I need to be able to go back and forth to Henderson and look after him and his properties,” Martin said. “I thought I could do both, but it’s really not possible at this time.”
Martin said he regretted the timing of the announcement as North Oldham is scheduled to begin spring practice in the next few days. Martin said the program’s assistant coaches will handle spring practice.
Martin posted a 68-49 record in 10 seasons at North Oldham, and his teams reached the playoffs eight times and finished with winning records seven times.
His best season came in 2014 when the Mustangs finished 10-3 after losing to Owensboro on a last-second Hail Mary in the Class 4-A state semifinals.
“They could try that play 100 times in a row and not get it again,” Martin said with a laugh.
After four seasons as head coach at Henry County, Martin took over the North Oldham program in 2006 in its fourth season of existence. The Mustangs went 0-10 in Martin’s first season, but they turned it around in 2007 with an 8-4 campaign and a trip to the second round of the playoffs.
“I’m proud of what we did, going from 20-something players 10 years ago to the mid-70s now,” Martin said. “We always treated the kids like family and grew the program. I had a lot of good help and a lot of great assistants.”
Martin said he could return to coaching in a couple of years “if the right situation comes up … and things work out with my dad and everything.”
Jason Frakes can be reached at (502) 582-4046 and jfrakes@courier-journal.com.