It Happened in Crawford County: Teaching and basketball are key parts of the Sheldon family
Amy Taylor-Sheldon is known to her basketball kids as Coach Taylor, and at the elementary school she is Mrs. Sheldon. Amy is a coal miner’s daughter raised in Bellaire, Ohio. Dad, Ben, graduated from Muskingum College with a degree in political science, and he worked in the mines. Her mom Jennifer went back to school when Amy was in the sixth grade and earned a degree as a dental hygienist.
Amy is passionate about education; everyone in her family has been an educator except for her parents. Early 1900s, her great grandfather was the first principal at Key Ridge Elementary, Amy’s grandma was her second grade teacher in 1982 and Amy also has a dozen great aunts, and aunts and uncles who are teachers. Amy’s sister Alyson and her brother Ben also teach. Education is a way of life for the Taylors. Amy is very grateful for her upbringing; she had a Norman Rockwell childhood.
While in school, Amy played volleyball, basketball and softball and was on student council. She graduated in 1992 and enrolled at Muskingum College where she played basketball. She graduated in 1996 with degrees in English, elementary education and special education. Amy interviewed with Scott Langenderfer at Wynford to teach 10th grade English in 1996-97, her first teaching job. She loved being in the high school classroom engaging in discussion with young adults who are figuring out what they think and what they want to be; it’s been refreshing.
After 13 years and when her first daughter was born in 2009, Amy switched midway in her career to special education administrator. It was a chance to work with kids with special needs — another avenue to learn and grow with. She has spent the last three years as assistant principal at the elementary school. It has renewed her spirit working with passionate people and kids so eager to learn and working with teachers who are constantly finding new ways to make school engaging, fun and a safe place.
Amy has also been the high school varsity basketball coach for 25 years. In 2021, she won the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association Award — the ethics, leadership and integrity award. With coaching, people must think Amy loves basketball; but for her, it’s a tool to help young women grow and reach their goals. They can push themselves over boundaries and give themselves a sense of pride and achievement for their hard work. Amy’s a compassionate person working with kids at that level of sports. Amy just completed 25 years at Wynford. She has also spent most of that time with the Crawford County Young Life Program; a big part of who she is. Michael Hurles is the area director, and Amy is the committee chairperson.
David Sheldon is the oldest Sheldon in his basketball family and has a lot of enthusiasm for the sport. He also played golf in high school. David graduated from Wynford in 1994 and enrolled at Bluffton. He graduated in 1998 with a sports management and business degree. Amy met David through his dad Rob, the Wynford athletic director, when David was working for the Orlando Magic. He spent three years in the NBA. Although the money was lucrative, it’s not as fulfilling as the educational world. He wanted to be a teacher and coach and that led him back to Bucyrus High School for four years. David’s dream was to be a head coach. He also got the opportunity to coach under Todd Martin at Bucyrus and then had an opportunity presented to him by Superintendent Ted Bruner at Colonel Crawford. He has been there 16 years. He’s currently the dean of students and athletic director at Colonel Crawford and also the head basketball coach.
Amy is a volunteer and currently manages the Wynford Branch of the Bucyrus Backpack Program under Virginia Hammontree. Amy wants to be seen as a “Happy Helper” and wants that to be her calling card, her identifying trait. David is the president of the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches’ Association. Amy served in that as a director and membership of OHSAA Foundation and has also run the Hall of Fame program at Wynford for 10 years. Whatever people ask her to do, she tries to help.
The Sheldons are members of Bucyrus United Methodist Church and she is a member of Rotary. The basis of their survival in terms of their family is both Wynford and Crawford community support — verbally, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Since they don’t have grandparents here, they rely on that extended family to be supportive. They are grateful for Margie and Dale Hoyles and Marilyn and Mitch Alban for babysitting their kids until they went to school. The former basketball players often babysit too; they are like family helping care for their kids. Caroline is 12 and Paige is 10, and both attend Wynford School.
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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: It Happened in Crawford County: Teachers/coaches Amy & David Sheldon
