Whiteoak graduate now leads own program
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — One of Whiteoak's own is now a girls varsity basketball coach in Lawrence County.
Whiteoak graduate ('03) and former WHS assistant coach Brandon Walker is beginning a new chapter in his coaching life as he is the girls varsity basketball coach at Symmes Valley, which is located 20 miles north of Ironton.
Returning home to WHS last Friday in a scrimmage against the Lady 'Cats, Walker paced the sideline for the first time with his own team and said "it was special" for him to bring his team home to Mowrystown to play on the same court where he coached for a number of years.
Walker coached a total of seven years in the Whiteoak program, including junior varsity, junior high and at the pee-wee levels.
Walker coached under former WHS (girls basketball) head coach Steve Smith and at Chesapeake under Ryan Davis. Walker said he also had help from current WHS boys varsity basketball coach Tom Wessner.
"I really enjoy running my own program. The girls work hard and are a good group to be around. I can't ask for anything more. I feel prepared, and this is a great opportunity."
As the new varsity head coach for Symmes Valley, who are members of the Southern Ohio Conference, Walker said he uses ideas from all the coaches he has worked with, mixed in with his style of play he wants his team to use this upcoming season.
"I like the kids to play man-to-man pressure defense and be smart," Walker said. "I run simplistic offenses … we want to shoot layups, first and foremost. We'll rely a lot on transition and pressuring people.
"Our motto this year is 'Outwork everybody.'"
Smith, who gave Walker his first coaching opportunity, spoke well of his former assistant.
"Brandon went to school with my daughter. He came up helping me with all the paperwork … doing all the stuff nobody else wants to do, getting into coaching as an assistant," Smith said. "We got him into a reserve coaching job, and he did a real good job for two years. When he first came and asked to help me with the program, I thought from the start he'd make a good coach, and he wanted to coach.
"He's very knowledgeable about the game and has a passion for the game. Brandon wants his kids to play hard, and I think he'll do a great job as a head coach. It's going to be tough for a year or two, but he has the capability to be a good coach."
Smith talked about what advice he would give his former assistant.
"The biggest piece of advice I would give him as a head coach is he has to be able to block out all the comments in the stands," Smith said. "If you let all the comments get to you, you can't continue what you have to do. You have to run your program the way it has to be run, not let anything outside the program influence what you do."
Walker explained how he become the head coach for the Lady Vikings.
"My wife (Leslie) coached the junior high for two years, so the freshmen (and sophomores) we have she coached then," Walker said. "The coach my wife played for in high school resigned, and I coached at Chesapeake one year (the year they went to the Final Four) and decided it was time to get back in it.
"This is a good fit. Symmes Valley is a lot like Whiteoak … it's a rural school, the kids work hard and it is a great community."
Walker has worked for years to finally become a head coach, and he said he uses lessons learned from current and former WHS coaches.
"I love it … I get excited to come to practice every day. I get to plan everything, it's new to me, but I really enjoy it and I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a head coach after years of being an assistant," Walker said. "What I got from Steve and Tom was work ethic and simplifying things for the kids.
"Most importantly, they taught me to genuinely care about the kids. They taught me you are not just a coach … you don't do this for the money, but you are here for the kids. The senior class at Whiteoak was the first group I coached in pee-wee."
Seeing the WHS seniors warm up, Walker said they were a part of the first-ever group of girls he coached at the pee-wee level with Brent Gilliland.
"It makes me feel old," Walker said laughing. "It was important for me to bring my team here to scrimmage. I wanted to come back and play against my kids I started with. I wanted to come home as a head coach … being back here as a head coach makes me feel old.
"I'm proud of the kids I've coached. Some have gone to play at the college level, and most importantly, they have become great people. We've helped turn kids into
great people."
Walker's current team is young, with one senior as the year is about to tip-off.
"We are young and return three starters from last year that started as sophomores," he said. "We will play mostly play juniors and sophomores and play eight or nine kids a night. Our senior hasn't played since her freshman year."
Along with a young team, Walker will be coaching with his wife, who is not only the JV coach, but will be expecting their first child as the season nears tournament time.
"She played for Symmes Valley, and we're also expecting," he said. "She's due in tournament time, but this is a great time for us. I said the most important thing when picking an assistant coach is picking someone you can trust and works hard.
"My wife works extremely hard. The things I forget to do, she does. The marriage helps it … we know what each other is thinking, and we don't miss a beat. I'm really thankful I get to coach with my wife."
Walker had some final thoughts about returning home for a night at Whiteoak.
"I miss the Southern Hills League .. there are some really competitive games, and I hope all the teams do really well this year," Walker said. "It was great to just be back here. I had goosebumps all night, and I'm glad my kids get to play in this gym.
"It just means a lot. You can't ask for a better place to live than Mowrystown. The second-best place is Symmes Valley … it's great to come home, and I had a smile on my face all night."[[In-content Ad]]
Whiteoak graduate ('03) and former WHS assistant coach Brandon Walker is beginning a new chapter in his coaching life as he is the girls varsity basketball coach at Symmes Valley, which is located 20 miles north of Ironton.
Returning home to WHS last Friday in a scrimmage against the Lady 'Cats, Walker paced the sideline for the first time with his own team and said "it was special" for him to bring his team home to Mowrystown to play on the same court where he coached for a number of years.
Walker coached a total of seven years in the Whiteoak program, including junior varsity, junior high and at the pee-wee levels.
Walker coached under former WHS (girls basketball) head coach Steve Smith and at Chesapeake under Ryan Davis. Walker said he also had help from current WHS boys varsity basketball coach Tom Wessner.
"I really enjoy running my own program. The girls work hard and are a good group to be around. I can't ask for anything more. I feel prepared, and this is a great opportunity."
As the new varsity head coach for Symmes Valley, who are members of the Southern Ohio Conference, Walker said he uses ideas from all the coaches he has worked with, mixed in with his style of play he wants his team to use this upcoming season.
"I like the kids to play man-to-man pressure defense and be smart," Walker said. "I run simplistic offenses … we want to shoot layups, first and foremost. We'll rely a lot on transition and pressuring people.
"Our motto this year is 'Outwork everybody.'"
Smith, who gave Walker his first coaching opportunity, spoke well of his former assistant.
"Brandon went to school with my daughter. He came up helping me with all the paperwork … doing all the stuff nobody else wants to do, getting into coaching as an assistant," Smith said. "We got him into a reserve coaching job, and he did a real good job for two years. When he first came and asked to help me with the program, I thought from the start he'd make a good coach, and he wanted to coach.
"He's very knowledgeable about the game and has a passion for the game. Brandon wants his kids to play hard, and I think he'll do a great job as a head coach. It's going to be tough for a year or two, but he has the capability to be a good coach."
Smith talked about what advice he would give his former assistant.
"The biggest piece of advice I would give him as a head coach is he has to be able to block out all the comments in the stands," Smith said. "If you let all the comments get to you, you can't continue what you have to do. You have to run your program the way it has to be run, not let anything outside the program influence what you do."
Walker explained how he become the head coach for the Lady Vikings.
"My wife (Leslie) coached the junior high for two years, so the freshmen (and sophomores) we have she coached then," Walker said. "The coach my wife played for in high school resigned, and I coached at Chesapeake one year (the year they went to the Final Four) and decided it was time to get back in it.
"This is a good fit. Symmes Valley is a lot like Whiteoak … it's a rural school, the kids work hard and it is a great community."
Walker has worked for years to finally become a head coach, and he said he uses lessons learned from current and former WHS coaches.
"I love it … I get excited to come to practice every day. I get to plan everything, it's new to me, but I really enjoy it and I'm thankful for the opportunity to be a head coach after years of being an assistant," Walker said. "What I got from Steve and Tom was work ethic and simplifying things for the kids.
"Most importantly, they taught me to genuinely care about the kids. They taught me you are not just a coach … you don't do this for the money, but you are here for the kids. The senior class at Whiteoak was the first group I coached in pee-wee."
Seeing the WHS seniors warm up, Walker said they were a part of the first-ever group of girls he coached at the pee-wee level with Brent Gilliland.
"It makes me feel old," Walker said laughing. "It was important for me to bring my team here to scrimmage. I wanted to come back and play against my kids I started with. I wanted to come home as a head coach … being back here as a head coach makes me feel old.
"I'm proud of the kids I've coached. Some have gone to play at the college level, and most importantly, they have become great people. We've helped turn kids into
great people."
Walker's current team is young, with one senior as the year is about to tip-off.
"We are young and return three starters from last year that started as sophomores," he said. "We will play mostly play juniors and sophomores and play eight or nine kids a night. Our senior hasn't played since her freshman year."
Along with a young team, Walker will be coaching with his wife, who is not only the JV coach, but will be expecting their first child as the season nears tournament time.
"She played for Symmes Valley, and we're also expecting," he said. "She's due in tournament time, but this is a great time for us. I said the most important thing when picking an assistant coach is picking someone you can trust and works hard.
"My wife works extremely hard. The things I forget to do, she does. The marriage helps it … we know what each other is thinking, and we don't miss a beat. I'm really thankful I get to coach with my wife."
Walker had some final thoughts about returning home for a night at Whiteoak.
"I miss the Southern Hills League .. there are some really competitive games, and I hope all the teams do really well this year," Walker said. "It was great to just be back here. I had goosebumps all night, and I'm glad my kids get to play in this gym.
"It just means a lot. You can't ask for a better place to live than Mowrystown. The second-best place is Symmes Valley … it's great to come home, and I had a smile on my face all night."[[In-content Ad]]