Elizabethtown’s Donnie Swiney steps away after leading one of Kentucky’s top programs
By John Herndon, 110forChrist.com
ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. – As Donnie Swiney reflected on a coaching career that went from an unusual beginning to the top of the profession, the message was clearly, “God has been good.”
I am not sure Swiney ever used those exact words during the 50 minutes or so that we talked while sitting in a McDonald’s in Elizabethtown. He really didn’t have to. His expressions, his smiles, his positive vibes spoke louder than the words he uttered.
And his record as head coach at Elizabethtown High School highlights the impact a former youth minister has had teaching at his alma mater and coaching one of the top programs in Kentucky. In seven years as head coach, his teams won 173 games against 50 losses. The Panthers won five District 17 championships, two Fifth Region titles and advanced to the state tournament’s Elite Eight in 2018.
But most of all there have been the relationships he’s built with players and their families, first as an assistant coach, then as the top man.
“I have missed being around the kids,” he said last week. Since announcing his resignation on May 4, he didn’t go through the Panthers’ summer workouts for the first time in 25 years. He’s not been focused on how to make his team a regional contender and a statewide player.
“I’ve missed the kids. I don’t miss some of the other stuff,” he laughed. “Once the season gets started, I am sure it will be different.”
Swiney has just been enjoying being a husband and dad and took his time in making the decision about his future. The Panthers got out of the gate slowly, dropping seven of their first nine games, then never being able to put everything together on a consistent basis the rest of the way. Hart County ended the Panthers’ only losing season under Swiney in the Fifth Region opener.
“The year before, we weren’t supposed to do anything, but finished 18-11 and went to the regional semifinal,” Swiney smiled.
After an embarrassing 39-point drubbing at the hands of Owen County in the Anderson County Christmas tournament, Swiney took his team directly to Panther Gym when they returned home. That 90-minute practice paid big dividends.
E-town nearly upset eventual Fifth Region champ Bethlehem the next night, then went 10-5 the rest of the way. Nelson County eventually ended a season that had turned around and continued the E-town excellence.
That Swiney had become a part of the powerhouse program is a story in itself. He never played high school basketball, being cut during his sophomore year. He then focused on baseball, helping the Panthers to a regional runner-up finish as a senior in 1989.
Swiney went on to Western Kentucky University with plans to major in journalism. While he had a fun gig covering some of Ralph Williard’s good Hilltopper teams, Swiney decided a career of long nights and crazy deadlines wasn’t for him.
His youth minister at E-town’s First Christian Church, Doug Mitchell, encouraged Swiney to consider a career in ministry. Swiney packed his bags for Kentucky Christian University in Grayson, playing on the Knights’ baseball team, before graduating in 1994.
Swiney relocated to Xenia, Ohio, where he worked as a youth minister for two years before returning to his hometown.
He connected with his old high school, starting as a long-term substitute teacher and joining Tim Mudd’s coaching staff as a girls’ basketball volunteer assistant in the 1997-98 school year. It was quite an introduction to coaching.
“We won it all that year,” Swiney remembered. In Eastern Kentucky University’s McBrayer Arena, E-town defeated Montgomery County, 45-37, for the state championship.
There were state runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2014 before Mudd stepped down, turning the program over to Swiney in 2016.
Meanwhile, Swiney had commuted to Bowling Green to study for his teacher certification and joined the E-town faculty in 2000, teaching English. He will continue working in the classroom at E-town, trying to make a difference in teenagers’ lives. “I am coming up on year 24,” he said with a smile.
But he’s best known as a fixture on the E-town bench for 25 years. He’s somewhat old school in his approach – discipline and high expectations have long been hallmarks of the Panther program – and despite enormous changes in the world around them, young people still respond to those expectations.
“Kids are kids,” he says. “They haven’t changed. They want you to invest in them. The game has changed. It’s much more of a perimeter game now.”
But the biggest change has come about in a realm where coaches have little control. “There is so much more outside now,” he says. “Social media is one of the big things. I have seen it cost kids (college scholarships).
“The pressure from parents is there too. Parents are trying to get their kids into college but a lot of parents are trying to live vicariously through their kids. The kids hear things at home and that puts even more pressure on the kids.”
Swiney was blessed to coach three Division I players during his seven years at the helm and worked with others, including the 2016 Gatorade National Player of the Year Erin Boley. “She was a once in a lifetime player,” Swiney said.
But most high school players won’t come close to having that size or skill level and the college transfer portal has closed some doors for the high school kids. “It’s crazy out there now,” he said. “(The portal) is playing to the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side.”
The changes in the college game have undoubtedly accelerated the movement of high school players and have undoubtedly affected the high school game in ways that few expected a decade ago. Some high school coaches have stepped away from the game because of them, but Swiney says those changes did not play into his decision.
“I have learned a lot about parenting: How to do it and how not to,” he laughed. “But I have been very fortunate. For every bad parent, I have had five or six good ones.”
And he now wants to be a good parent himself.
“My daughter is starting middle school,” he says, noting she is involved in numerous activities, including basketball. “My wife (Davette) has sacrificed so much for the last 15 years.”
He also plans to be more involved in his home church, First Christian, where he has served as a deacon in the past.
But when basketball practice begins on Oct. 15, Donnie Swiney is sure there will be a tugging in his soul.
“I know I will miss the camaraderie with the coaches in girls’ high school basketball,” he says. “I haven’t thought a lot about it, but I will probably go to some (E-town games). I have been coaching these kids.”
In many ways, coaching those teenage girls is what Donnie Swiney prepared for when he prepared for youth ministry. “Even in ministry, you are coaching,” he says. “You have to figure out what is going on.”
And while there are laws that limit how much any coach can say about his faith in the public school setting, Swiney still strives to convey the message of Christ. “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult, but it’s not necessarily easy either,” he says. “It’s more like being a good example and doing the right thing without actually mentioning Jesus by name.”
The Swiney Stats
Year Record Finish
2016-17 28-4 17th District champ, 5th Region runner-up
2017-18 34-3 17th District champ, 5th Region champion, Elite Eight
2018-19 30-5 17th District champ, 5th Region runner-up
2019-20 27-6 17th District champ, 5th Region champion
2020-21 23-2 17th District runner-up, lost in region first round
2021-22 18-11 17th District champ, 5th Region semifinals
2022-23 13-19 17th District runner-up, lost in region first round
OVERALL 173-50 Five 17th District titles, two 5th Region titles
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