After two successful years as the boys basketball coach, Scott Collins has announced he won’t be back for the winter season.

“I can’t continue to commute down-island,” he said Tuesday.

“It was really hard teaching at Oak Harbor High School and coaching at South Whidbey. I was driving 80 miles every day and spending an hour and a half each day in my car,” he said.“Driving just got to be too much. I was hoping after a few years a teaching job would open up in the South Whidbey School District and that never happened.”

South Whidbey posted a winning 25-19 overall record during Collins’ tenure. Before his arrival, the boys went 6-14.

Reaction from Falcon players was mixed.

“I’m shocked,” said Riley Newman, a sophomore who was last year’s leading scorer. “Each year we were getting better. I know he was disappointed more guys didn’t sign up for summer programs. In practice, he did what he could to have us be more effective on the court.”

Cole Erikson, who will also be a junior in the fall, said the news won’t affect the team.

“It’s his decision and I’m sure he has a reason,” Erickson said.

“He loves basketball,” Erickson added. “It’s a hit, but we’re fine. We have some great talent to build on.”

Collins was a three-year letterman, captain and starting guard for coach Mac Frasier at Mount Vernon High School during their state tournament years from 1994 to 1998.

He also played basketball at the college level, including Eastern Oregon University, where he scored a three-pointer against Gonzaga. “The highlight of my college playing days,” he recalled.

Graduating from Central Washington University with a degree in health education in 2005, Collins began teaching in Oak Harbor in 2006 and coaches the freshmen basketball squad.

Collins recalled that his best win as South Whidbey’s coach came in his first season, a 55-52 overtime triumph against Archbishop Murphy.

“That was a fun game; it gave our kids reinforcement that what we were doing was going to work,” he said. “My favorite game was the first-round home game with Anacortes in the district tournament. We had a loud crowd, and Erikson Gym came to life that night as we made an 18-point comeback in the last two minutes.”

Collins said that his best quarter was his first game in his first year when the Falcons scored 36 points in the fourth quarter against Friday Harbor.

“I believe it was the most any team in the state scored in a quarter that season, and is probably a school record,” he said.

“I can’t thank my assistant coach, Gus Erikson, enough; he did a heck of a job for us and was great to work with. I will forever be grateful for his efforts,” Collins said.

Falcon athletic director John Patton will open up the position and begin interviews in the early fall.

“Scott did a great job for us and I appreciate all his efforts,” Patton said on Friday.

“The kids respected him and responded to his style of coaching. I’m sorry he’s leaving, but understand the challenges he faced commuting every day,” Patton said.