AURORA — It happened quickly for Scott Henry.
The former three-sport athlete and veteran coach at Smoky Hill spent a year as a baseball assistant at Grandview. He said he figured he would have a shot at the Wolves head-coaching job maybe four or five years down the road.
However, it turned into one. Henry, 39, was announced as Grandview’s new head coach on Wednesday.
He takes over for longtime figure Dean Adams, who resigned after the season ended in May. Adams also was the football team’s defensive coordinator.
But Henry, previously a Smoky Hill homegrown guy, suddenly has taken over and he’s thrilled.
“I’m very excited, very excited,” Henry said. “This will be a fun opportunity for sure.”
With the teaching schedules all set for 2015-16 — Henry teaches business and marketing — he will stay at Smoky Hill for a year with the hope that he can move over the next school year.
“Scott brings with him an extensive background of coaching, having been both a head coach and assistant coach,” Grandview athletic director Jamee Ulitzky said. “We look forward to the future of our baseball program under his leadership.”
Henry played football, basketball and baseball for the Buffaloes, graduating in 1994. He was all-state honorable mention as a senior, playing first base and outfield.
He was an assistant for eight years with the Buffs and had a seven-year head-coaching run that ended in 2014.
So when he came over to nearby Grandview the past season, he never figured to take over so quickly.
“I had an idea Dean would retire at some point, but no idea he would retire so soon,” Henry said.
Grandview, a regular challenger in the rugged Centennial League as well as all of Class 5A, was 15-10 in 2015 and one of the final four teams in the double-elimination Championship Series.
Neil H. Devlin: ndevlin@denverpost.com or
