Whiteoak tabs Randy Abbott as girls basketball coach
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The time was right for Randy Abbott, a coaching veteran of all levels in Highland County, to take the highest step in the coaching ranks, becoming the new head coach of the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats varsity basketball team.
Abbott, a 1979 graduate of Hillsboro High School, has 17 years of experience coaching boys and girls basketball of various levels, including last season with the Hillsboro Indians as their JV coach and an assistant on the boys varsity program. He'll be replacing John Kirschner, who was the WHS head coach for one season.
"I'm excited about this opportunity," Abbott told The Highland County Press. "I haven't seen the kids yet, so I'm still learning about our team."
Getting to this point of his coaching career has seen Abbott begin under former Hillsboro boys basketball coach Joe B. Stewart in the late ‘90s as an eighth grade coach, as Abbott said he coached under Stewart twice.
Abbott has also been a coach at Fairfield and in the Hillsboro girls basketball program as well with Glenn Burns.
[[In-content Ad]]"I've learned a lot from all of the coaches in various programs, but I learned from Joe B. Stewart that coaching basketball is a vehicle for young people that can help build character,” Abbott said. "Being around him and Sam Snyder early on taught me how the game can be applied to teach kids about more than basketball."
Wanting his players to learn lessons on the court they can use in their everyday lives also involves how they play the game as well, and Abbott (who is also a pastor of Chapel of Hope) wants his new team to gain wins as well.
"Of course we want to win games, and to do so we will want to pressure the ball defensively,” Abbott said. “Like I mentioned before, learning from Joe, he runs organized practices and has attention to detail, so that's what we want to do here.
"We will want to win with defense, but on offense we will want to control the tempo and have production with our fast break game. Our shot selection will be key, plus we’ll have to create situations for our shooters."
Another person Abbott mentioned in the coaching ranks was friend and fellow coach Josh Howland.
"Josh is one of the hardest workers I've ever been around," he said. "He's been a true friend and always there for encouragement. As a coach, he puts in the extra work needed to be successful."
Again, taking over a Whiteoak program that last had a winning season in 2007-08 will take a lot of work and time to improve from their 5-18 this past season, as they lost in the first round of the postseason in February. Since that last winning season, Whiteoak has won a total of 18 games in a seven-season span.
"I realize it is a lot of work, but it isn't work if you love what you are doing," Abbott said. "To show the improvement in the program, there has to be a vision, so I'm excited to get started. There are good young people at Whiteoak, and to be given an opportunity at this level is an honor.
"There is a good community at Whiteoak, and I've been told the girls are a tight-knit group, so that's a positive to have with any team. To have success, we'll need to have great communication from coaches, players and parents, which I know we'll have."
Abbott also thanked his family for their support as well, including his wife Loree and their three adult children: Greg, Chad and Brittany.
Abbott, a 1979 graduate of Hillsboro High School, has 17 years of experience coaching boys and girls basketball of various levels, including last season with the Hillsboro Indians as their JV coach and an assistant on the boys varsity program. He'll be replacing John Kirschner, who was the WHS head coach for one season.
"I'm excited about this opportunity," Abbott told The Highland County Press. "I haven't seen the kids yet, so I'm still learning about our team."
Getting to this point of his coaching career has seen Abbott begin under former Hillsboro boys basketball coach Joe B. Stewart in the late ‘90s as an eighth grade coach, as Abbott said he coached under Stewart twice.
Abbott has also been a coach at Fairfield and in the Hillsboro girls basketball program as well with Glenn Burns.
[[In-content Ad]]"I've learned a lot from all of the coaches in various programs, but I learned from Joe B. Stewart that coaching basketball is a vehicle for young people that can help build character,” Abbott said. "Being around him and Sam Snyder early on taught me how the game can be applied to teach kids about more than basketball."
Wanting his players to learn lessons on the court they can use in their everyday lives also involves how they play the game as well, and Abbott (who is also a pastor of Chapel of Hope) wants his new team to gain wins as well.
"Of course we want to win games, and to do so we will want to pressure the ball defensively,” Abbott said. “Like I mentioned before, learning from Joe, he runs organized practices and has attention to detail, so that's what we want to do here.
"We will want to win with defense, but on offense we will want to control the tempo and have production with our fast break game. Our shot selection will be key, plus we’ll have to create situations for our shooters."
Another person Abbott mentioned in the coaching ranks was friend and fellow coach Josh Howland.
"Josh is one of the hardest workers I've ever been around," he said. "He's been a true friend and always there for encouragement. As a coach, he puts in the extra work needed to be successful."
Again, taking over a Whiteoak program that last had a winning season in 2007-08 will take a lot of work and time to improve from their 5-18 this past season, as they lost in the first round of the postseason in February. Since that last winning season, Whiteoak has won a total of 18 games in a seven-season span.
"I realize it is a lot of work, but it isn't work if you love what you are doing," Abbott said. "To show the improvement in the program, there has to be a vision, so I'm excited to get started. There are good young people at Whiteoak, and to be given an opportunity at this level is an honor.
"There is a good community at Whiteoak, and I've been told the girls are a tight-knit group, so that's a positive to have with any team. To have success, we'll need to have great communication from coaches, players and parents, which I know we'll have."
Abbott also thanked his family for their support as well, including his wife Loree and their three adult children: Greg, Chad and Brittany.