Bob Kindred never played at the state basketball tournament, but last week he was on the OSU basketball court.

At halftime of the Division III state finals game Kindred was recognized as one of five recipients of this year’s Bob Arnzen Award.

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The Ohio High School Basketball Coaches Association presents the Arnzen Award annually to a basketball coach who has devoted 20 consecutive years or more of service to the same school and for loyalty and commitment to Ohio high school basketball. 

Todd Boblitt, BHS boys' varsity coach,nominated Kindred for the award.

Kindred has coached basketball for 21 consecutive years in the Bluffton school system. Those seasons include nine as 7th grade boys’ coach and the most recent 12 as a BHS varsity assistant coach.

His coaching career actually stretches to 30 seasons. Before coaching at Bluffton he was junior high boys’ coach at Upper Scioto Valley, where he was a teacher.

Kindred taught junior high and middle school language arts and social studies at Upper Scioto from 1977 to 2007.

An Anna High School grad, Kindred played basketball in high school, and played one year while a student at Findlay College.

This year’s boys’ Arnzen’s recipients along with Kindred were Mark Britsch, Wauseon; Chad Burt, Wauseon; Joe Mackey, Brunswick and Todd Rock, Zanesville Rosecrans.

About the award
The award is named in the honor of the late Bob Arnzen, the legendary boys coach of Delphos St. John’s High School. At the time of his retirement, Coach Arnzen spent 43 years as the head coach and was the second winningest coach of all time in Ohio High School basketball history with 676 wins.