Tom Henson has always said given the options of athletic involvement, coaching is his first priority.

After 10 years of balancing the demands of being either a head coach in boys basketball or football at Grand Valley High School and the duties of athletic director for the Mustangs, the 59-year-old Henson has decided to set aside the AD responsibilities to concentrate on coaching the GV football team. Putting aside the role he held 10 years in succeeding his brother, Jim, in that post was not a difficult decision at all.

“It’s very simple,” he said. “(The athletic director’s post) had just become so much with doing all the things you have to do with scheduling, plus the things you have to do to meet (Ohio High School Athletic Association) requirements. It was just too much to do the job as head football coach and athletic director. I was actually going to give it up before this year, but I was talked into coming back for this year.

“Coaching has always been first with me. My decision was driven by that fact only. I just love to coach, period. I believe the AD job is very important, and I just felt I couldn’t do justice at this time to both jobs.”

Anybody who might suspect Henson is relinquishing the athletic director’s job for health reasons is mistaken.

“I feel great,” he said.

Henson could probably point to a number of accomplishments during his tenure as athletic director, not the least of which is Grand Valley’s move from the old facilities on North School Street to its sparkling new home off Route 45. GV’s new football field and all-weather running track, along with its new gymnasiums, are just part of the picture.

It is more from an intangible sense that Henson views the highlights of his time as the head of the GV athletic department.

“I’ve really enjoyed working with all our coaches,” he said. “They’ve done a great job working with our kids.

“I’ve loved working with all the other ADs from the CVC and the area as a whole. I’ve found out everybody has the best interests of their kids at heart and in their minds whenever they’ve done anything.”

The Mustangs are in a transitional phase in terms of their conference alignment, too, shifting from their ties with the Chagrin Valley Conference to the Northeastern Athletic Conference.

“I’ve really enjoyed the relationships we’ve had with the people in the CVC. But at the same time, we’re between a rock and a hard place in terms of what we have to do regarding rising travel costs, especially going to places like Independence, which is an hour and a half away, and Cuyahoga Heights, which is about 10 or 15 minutes apart from Independence.

“We had to do what’s best for our community and our students. Our people had a hard time relating to those schools. Moving to the NAC is going to cut down considerably on our travel time and costs, too.”

The opportunity to renew some old rivalries and develop some new ones is exciting to Henson. Meetings are already being held to work out the details.

“I think people are going to have a lot more familiarity with the schools we play in the NAC,” he said. “I think a lot more rivalries will be created.”