By Malcolm Butler
After just one season at Simsboro High School, Randy Carlisle called it quits.
Now the school is searching for its next head boys basketball coach and principal Lacey Holcomb said the process is moving along nicely.
“Right now the job is open, and we are accepting applications,” said Holcomb Tuesday afternoon. “I have had several people apply for the job, and I will probably start interviews maybe next week. My hope would be to have someone in the position before the end of this school year. I would like to have a coach in place that I can introduce to the teams and they can be there for the junior high tryouts.”
School is set to end on May 26, and Holcomb said that if she doesn’t have a coach in place by then, the junior high tryouts may be pushed back.
Carlisle led Simsboro to the District 2B title but never seemed to completely make the Class B school his home. After guiding the Tigers to a 14-15 record and a first round loss to Anacoco in the Non-Select School Division V playoffs, the longtime high school coach in the states of Texas and Louisiana announced he was leaving.
“We have always had a pretty open line of communication so it’s something that we had talked about,” said Holcomb. “It wasn’t necessarily a surprise.”
The Tigers have been one of the top Class B teams in the state of Louisiana over the last decade, winning three state titles. Holcomb said she is hoping to find a coach who will invest in the school and the players.
“We are looking for someone who is going to be committed and passionate about building something here at Simsboro,” said Holcomb. “I think we have some talent coming up in our basketball program and I would love to have somebody that is going to commit the time and build the relationships with the kids. We want somebody who is going to be a part of the school community and the Simsboro community. We want somebody who is going to help build our basketball program back to what we know it can be.”
