Spending almost a decade supporting the blue and gold, Travis Doak is returning to West Virginia after a two-year hiatus.
Doak started as a volunteer coach for the Mountaineers women's gymnastics team in 2004. No full-time position became available once Doak graduated in 2006, so he was forced to move up and down the Northeast, traveling close to 650 miles to the University of New Hampshire.
Doak coached the Wildcats for the 2006-07 season before joining Penn State's staff for the '07-08 season. He said each coaching stop was made so that he was closer to his family and hometown in Beverly, W. Va. So, when Mountaineer head coach Linda Burdette approached Doak in mid-May about an opening, the Penn State assistant coach knew then and there he would be making his third coaching stop in as many years.
An official statement will be made sometime next week announcing the team is accepting applications for interested candidates. Penn State coach Steve Shephard said three people have interviewed for the opening, but he declined to list their names.
"It's a tough loss," Shephard said. "Travis did a tremendous job for us. We're hoping for a seamless transition."
Shephard hopes to have a replacement by mid-August. Doak, however, will remain with the team until the end of July.
Ask anybody inside the Nittany Lions' program of the departure, and no words of animosity toward Doak's brief stint in Happy Valley will be heard. After all, they understand Doak has always wanted to coach in his home state, and Morgantown is only an hour away from his family.
Doak's main responsibilities at Penn State included recruiting, training and coaching the vault and floor exercise.
Whitney Bencsko and Daryl Konsevick are two incoming gymnasts Doak brought in for the 2008 recruiting class. Doak said Shephard had asked him to inform the two recruits he would not be coaching them.
"It's always a bit unfortunate that you recruit these kids and you don't get to be there," Doak said.
Konsevick was actually recruited by Doak when he coached at New Hampshire.
Still, the women showed no disappointment and were completely understanding of Doak's decision.
"I chose Penn State not knowing Travis was going there," Konsevick said. "When he told me, 'I'm the new assistant there,' it was almost like a dream come true, it was meant to be. It's sad [that's he's not gonna be there] but it doesn't change my mind at all."
Konsevick remembers Doak as very energetic while taking her official visit. Engaging in conversation with Doak was hardly an issue because his youth enables him to relate with the athletes in a personal, non-athletic manner.
Even though Konsevick isn't upset with Doak leaving, she does have something to hold him responsible for.
"My game went downhill," Konsevick said with a chuckle, referring to her mini-golf score while vacationing in Jersey shore -- it was during mini-golf that she learned Doak was heading to Morgantown.
Now that Doak is in the most pristine coaching opportunity he could have hoped for, he has no regrets about his brief coaching stints.
"You wanna find your place," Doak said. "Penn State was a stepping stone to getting me close to home. Looking back I wouldn't change a thing, these were two programs that have given me great experiences."
