Hennessey tabs Richardson next girls coach
HENNESSEY’S BOARD of education on Monday approved the hiring of Brian Richardson as its next girls basketball coach. Richardson was at the meeting along with his wife, Jenny, who was also hired to teach in the district, and their twin sons Camdyn (far l
Brian Richardson faced rebuilding efforts at his two previous coaching stops.
Make it three in a row. Richardson was approved Monday as the new girls basketball coach at Hennessey High School.
The hire was made during the board of education’s regular April meeting (see related story).
He comes to Hennessey after 17 years at Sayre. Richardson coached the girls program for the entirety of his tenure there and also coached boys the last two years.
“It’s one of those deals where this is a great community, a great place and we love it out here,” Richardson said of Sayre. “But sometimes you get stuck and probably it’s time for a change to grow a little bit. You need a new challenge and I relish the thought to see if I could do it again.”
His head coaching career began at Hinton in 2001 and that program experienced just a couple of wins the season prior to his arrival.
“It was like that when I came to Sayre,” he added.
Hennessey last season was 7-17 and lost its final 14 games of the season.
The Lady Eagles have had a revolving door in the program as far as head coaches go the last several years, a fact not lost on Richardson.
“You can get caught in a vicious cycle of the coaching carousel and when it gets to turning, it can be hard to stop it,” he said. “We’ve had the same type of deal with boys coaches at Sayre.”
Richardson noted that Sayre has had a new boys coach an average of every 1.7 years during his time there.
He met with his new team Monday afternoon after the board meeting.
“I think they were excited,” he said. “Kids want discipline, they want structure and they want organization. You just have to give it to them. They’re wanting someone to come in and care about them.”
Superintendent Jason Sternberger recommended Richardson for the hire.
“Coach Richardson has had a very strong and consistent program during his 17 year tenure at Sayre,” Sternberger said.
“He works hard at being a successful coach and coaches the kids hard to give them the best opportunity to win.
“We are looking forward to him getting here ASAP to start the summer workouts and get the girls going in the right direction.
Richardson’s move, he said, has other motives as well.
His wife, Jenny, was also hired Monday to teach at HPS.
Their two youngest sons - twins Camdyn and Braedyn - will be sophomores next year.
Putting them in a program under coach Brady Page, he said, was a big draw.
“This was a chance to put them in a great program,” Richardson said. “They do such a great job.”
He witnessed it firsthand.
Sayre played at Hennessey in the opening round of the Class 2A regional this season. Page’s team won 5126 en route to a spot in the state tournament.
“I left the court getting thumped pretty bad, but thinking we had just been defeated by some class acts. I was impressed by it,” Richardson said. “Brady is very humble and very genuine.”
The move also allows Richardson the chance to watch his sons play…not coach them.
He coached all of his daughters and then his sons during the freshman season.
“This allows me to be a dad and not coach my kids,” he said.