Hassinger sets Medina basketball record

Chris Hassinger was first hired to coach boys basketball at Medina High School by Keith Sooy. At the time, Hassinger was a volunteer assistant on the staff of the longtime Bees coach, who won 170 games during his tenure at the school.

On Dec. 5, when Medina defeated Shaker Heights 66-58 at home, Hassinger – now in his 12th season as head coach – earned his 171st career victory coaching the Bees, moving him one win past Sooy. Sooy began his Medina coaching career when Hassinger was a sophomore at Wadsworth High School.

“He hired me 31 years ago,” Hassinger said after Medina defeated Medina Christian two weeks later for win No. 178. “So it’s really special. He’s been a friend. He’s just been a longtime friend, a mentor, and for him to be here was really special.”

Before Medina’s game against the Knights and between contests in the Battle of 44256 – featuring the four schools located in that ZIP code – Hassinger was formally recognized for the achievement. Medina athletic director Todd Hodkey presented him with a ceremonial basketball during a brief ceremony highlighting the careers of both Hassinger and Sooy.

Sooy received a warm welcome, and his accomplishments were shared with the crowd, which was sizeable for a frigid January night.

The seven-week gap between the record-setting win and the recognition allowed Sooy, now an assistant coach at Highland, to attend. The two shared handshakes, hugs and plenty of smiles.

“I didn’t even know about any of this stuff,” Hassinger said of the record and the ceremony. “My good friend came in from Maryland, and I said, ‘What are you doing here?’ He said, ‘You’re going to be the winningest coach in the program if you win.’”

Hassinger, in his mid-50s, still carries the energy and enthusiasm of a much younger coach. He said he has no idea how long he will continue coaching or where his final win total might land.

“Time flies. Things happen,” he said. “You don’t pay attention to that kind of stuff as a coach.”

Before taking over the boys program, Hassinger won 63 games in four seasons coaching Medina’s girls team, including three conference championships.

After one season as an assistant at Wadsworth, Hassinger took over the Medina boys program in 2014, succeeding Anthony Stacey. He previously coached at nearly every level within the Medina boys program over more than a decade.

Sooy coached at Medina from 1987-98, compiling a 170-73 record and winning four conference championships. He later won nearly 200 more games at Oberlin Firelands, finishing with 428 victories over 26 seasons. Over nearly 600 career games, Sooy never received a technical foul.

Sooy has been inducted into multiple halls of fame. His son, Ryan, scored more than 1,000 career points at Medina in the early 1990s. Most recently, Sooy has served as an assistant coach at Highland, where he coached his grandson, Landon, the two seasons prior to this one.

Sooy also coached baseball at the high school level, and those who know him say his baseball acumen rivals his basketball knowledge.