Scott Bardall is one of six children raised on a dairy farm by their parents, Richard and Marlene Bardall. Growing up on a dairy farm instilled in him a work ethic and sense of teamwork, which was ideally suited to the sport of basketball and a career in coaching. His high school coach, Dave Mast (District 5 Hall of Fame), had a tremendous impact on both his playing and coaching career. Scott is a 1981 graduate of Lakeland High School and 1985 graduate of Otterbein College. He has a Master’s Degree in Classroom Instruction from Ashland University. Scott currently teaches American History at Garaway High School.

Coach Bardall started his coaching career at Orrville High School in 1985, under legendary Hall of Famer Steve Smith. After four years as Coach Smith’s assistant/JV coach, he moved to the varsity girls’ program. In 1993, his team advanced to the state ‘Final Four’ before losing to West Holmes in the semi-finals. His 1998 team won another district title and advanced to the Regionals.

In 1999, Sugarcreek Garaway and the boys’ program became home for Coach Bardall and his young family. Over the next five years, the boys went 94-28 and advanced to the Districts four times. In 2002, his Pirate team lost in the Regional final to Eastern Brown and finished the season with a 24-2 record. His 2003 team went 26-2, finishing the season ranked #1 in the AP poll, before losing in the State final to Cincinnati Reading.

In 2005 he was hired to take over the Garaway girls’ program. In the next seven years his teams amassed a record of 145-30, with four district titles and two more trips to the ‘Final Four’. In 2006, his team went 25-3 on the way to Columbus, losing to Youngstown Ursuline in the semi-finals. His 2008 team lost in the State Final to Versailles. In his final two seasons as a head coach at Garaway (2010, 2011) his teams advanced to the Regionals before losing to Ironton and Eastern Brown, respectively. After two years out of active coaching, spent watching his daughters play collegiate basketball (University of Findlay and Malone University) and his son start his basketball career, Coach Bardall joined the Dover staff and Hall of Famer Bob VonKaenel at Dover.

In over 30 years as an active coach, Coach Bardall has won numerous coaching awards, including several league and district Coach of the Year honors. In 2008, he was selected as the AP Coach of the Year in Div III. He has served as Vice President and President of the District 5 Coaches Association and served the Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association as Vice President and currently is the OHSBCA President.

Coach Bardall has shared his career and family with his beautiful wife and biggest supporter, Tricia. Tricia was Scott’s assistant or junior high coach for several years with the girls’ programs at both Orrville and Garaway. They have been married for 32 years and are the proud parents of Laura, Sarah and Tyler. The family welcomed son-in-law Bradley Piehl (husband of Laura) into the family in 2013. Family and basketball have been the centerpiece of Coach Bardall’s life. He has been particularly blessed to have coached all three of his children (each has been selected as an All-Ohioan..which is a testament to his wife’s genetics). He also has had the wonderful opportunity to coach with several tremendous assistants over the years. Coach Bardall would also like to acknowledge and genuinely thank the many outstanding players and teams that have sacrificed greatly in the pursuit of excellence.