In one form or another, Steve Mason defined Osceola High School basketball for three decades — two stints as head coach, two interim head coaching gigs, junior varsity head coach, assistant varsity coach, and consultant. Since 1992, the Kowboys alum has done and seen it all.
That ended Tuesday when he informed OHS Athletics Director Jerry Gallman that he was stepping down as head boys’ basketball coach –a position he held most recently since 2021.
His final year ended last week in 63-62 regional semifinal loss to Plant. A game where he would coach his son, senior starting point guard Jordan Mason, capped a 22-6 record that included an Orange Belt Conference and district championship.
Still, Mason said he wasn’t sure until resigning until this week.
“At the beginning of the year, even with Jordan being a senior, I never thought this was my last season,” Mason said. “But the game has changed so much. I am an old school guy and believe sports should teach things like discipline, hard work and earning your spot. I have always believed in developing players. But things have changed so much. If I kid isn’t starting as a freshman, parents are screaming and wanting to transfer them immediately. Honestly that part of the game changed my heart about continuing as head coach.”
Mason becomes the latest of several highly successful Osceola head coaches that have stepped down in recent years for a variety of reasons, including Doug Nichols (football), Scott Birchler (baseball), Nate Alexander (basketball), and Jim Bird and Rick Tribit (wrestling/Athletic Director).
Gallman said Mason and his leadership will be sorely missed.
“Steve is blue and gold. I’m not sure anyone has been a bigger part of Osceola athletics over a longer period of time,” Gallman said. “His shoes are going to be hard to fill.”
Gallman said that a thorough search would take place to find the best available candidate. In the interim, Mason’s legacy at Osceola is secure. A 1984 Osceola graduate, Mason was cut from the Osceola basketball team as a senior but made it his mission to return as head basketball coach.
“I think we had nine guys my senior year that ended up playing in college, I simply was not good enough to make that team,” Mason said. “But I remember my parents laughing a little bit when I told them that I would someday become the head coach here. Even back then, Osceola basketball meant that much to me.”
His coaching legacy at Osceola began when he was a senior at UCF, when Mason came back to serve as freshman basketball coach. It would be the beginning of a 30-year stint in the athletics department. He was elevated to Osceola varsity assistant while teaching at St. Cloud Middle School and ended up serving two stints as interim head coach in 2000 and 2007.
Mason became the Kowboys’ full-time head coach in 2009 and recorded a 66-30 record over four years. When his son Jordan was born, he stepped down after the 2012-13 campaign to spend more time with is young family – recommending that his assistant Nate Alexander be promoted for the job.
“Nate was only 26 at the time, but I kept telling our administration he was ready to be a head coach,” Mason recalled. “Fortunately, they listened and it started the most successful run in school history.”
Mason continued working with the program, serving as Alexander’s assistant coach for a few years. as well as being the team’s college program consultant.
Under Alexander, Osceola reached three Final Fours and won two state championships. When his successor Steve Perez stepped away to enter private business, then Athletics Director Jim Bird turned back to Mason.
“This really wasn’t a difficult decision and certainly did not require any search committee,” Bird said when bringing back the veteran coach. “Steve Mason is the most loyal Kowboy in the world. He bleeds blue and gold and has a great knack for building relationships with athletes and getting them to compete at their potential. He has a long history with our basketball program and is a great coach.”
Bird’s faith quickly materialized. In the five years since coming back, Mason compiled a 96-41 record, won four OBC championships, four district crowns, and made the FHSAA regional playoffs all five years. Overall, his head coach record at Osceola stands at 162-71.
“I believe God made me a servant to serve others and that was through basketball,” Mason said. “And as much as that has been my mantra, I believe the game has given so much more back to me that I ever gave it.”
As for his future, Mason said he intends to remain a teacher at Osceola and hopes to stay involved in the school’s athletic program – just not as a basketball coach.
“I will say I will stay involved and I may not be done coaching, but I am 100% done as a basketball coach.”
