(Over the course of the next few weeks, the Lincoln Parish Journal is republishing some of its most memorable stories from the past year … some of our readers favorites).
by Malcolm Butler
When Katie Hall steps onto the University Center court Saturday at noon to coach her Cedar Creek team in the Select School Division IV state title game, she may pause for a moment before tipoff and take it all in.
And no one can blame her.
Just two short years ago, Hall was enjoying a pretty flexible life: a mom of four, a wife to husband Lance, and owner of Hall of Hoops Basketball Service. Oh, and coaching a little middle school girls hoops on the side at Cedar Creek.
Nothing too strenuous.
Longtime and highly successful Lady Cougars coach Gene Vandenlangenberg had the girls’ varsity program rolling, highlighted by a trip to the school’s first ever state title game in 2022.
And then, overnight, things changed.
Following the conclusion of the 2023 season, Coach Van – as he is affectionately known at the school – announced his decision to retire from coaching girls’ basketball. It was a move that took everybody by surprise, including Katie.
“When (Gene) unexpectedly retired … nobody saw that coming; me included,” said Hall. “I was trying to change (the junior high) practice plans to get ready for his lingo and the terminology that he used (on the varsity level).
“In all honesty in my own mind I was ready to get out of coaching the junior high once (my daughter) Kennedy moved on to high school.”
Not so fast, Coach Katie.
“Lance heard some rumblings that they were putting a committee together to approach me about the varsity job,” said Katie. “It was Mrs. (Cindy) Hampton that brought me in along with some other board members. They said, ‘Whatever it takes, we want you to take this over.’”
The answer was easy.
“It was a hard no for me,” said Katie.
According to Katie, her husband had predicted all this way before it all unfolded.
“Lance said, ‘You know they are going to ask you about the high school job,’” said Katie, referring to when she started coaching junior high at Creek. “And I was like, ‘Nope. I’m never doing that.’
“It was a hard no because I knew I would be all in and consumed and stressed out.”
Although no one will doubt her passion for both the sport of basketball and for teaching young people the game, Katie simply wouldn’t allow herself to think of taking the varsity position.
That is until a conversation with her husband.
“It was Lance,” said Katie. “He said, ‘I think you should consider it.’ I did a double take because he was the one who was even more hard no then me because it would be him stuck with the two twins at home.
“But he said, ‘I think you should. I think it’s a great opportunity to be with your (oldest) daughter and make those memories. We will make it work.’
“It was that moment that I allowed my brain to start picturing it. Until then, I never did.”
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Caroline James and Zoey Venters remember the day in March of 2023 when they were officially told that Coach Katie was replacing Coach Van.
According to both, it was the worst kept secret.
“We kept hearing rumors,” said Zoey.
Rumors quickly turned into reality as one day all the varsity basketball players were called out of class to go to the gym.
“I remember looking up and seeing (Coach Katie) standing in the balcony, smiling,” said Caroline. “I knew then.”
Both young ladies were already familiar with Coach Katie. James had played one year of middle school basketball for her as well as Hall of Hoops experience. Venters said she had attended a camp run by her.
And both say they were ecstatic to learn the news.
“I was excited,” said Zoey, one of only two seniors on this year’s Lady Cougars team. “It was rumored when Coach Van stepped down. Everyone was like, ‘Who is going to coach us?’
“Everyone’s first option was Coach Katie. I went to one of her camps and loved the way she taught me what to do. She wanted to see each one of us grow as basketball players.”
“I was thrilled,” said Caroline. “I had played for Coach Katie before. Loved her. I knew how she coached. She is a great coach. Moving on from a great coach like Coach Van … having a coach that was equally as great was so reassuring.”
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When asked how she got to where she is today in regard to leading Cedar Creek varsity on the hardwood, Katie takes zero credit.
“I think it was God’s plan,” said Katie. “I really felt like my whole path even going back to running camps for Coach Barmore at Louisiana Tech to finding the love for Hall of Hoops … I just think it was setting me up for this.
“It wasn’t my plan. It was definitely His.”
Katie has always had a passion for the sport of basketball. Starting at an early age and running through her days at C.E. Byrd High School where she led the program to a pair of Louisiana Class 5A state titles in the mid-1990s. She was named the MVP of the 1993 state title game the year Byrd was ranked No. 1 in the USA Today Top 25 poll.
Following high school, she made the 60-mile trip east to Ruston to play for a legendary coach at a legendary program.
“I am so proud of Katie,” said Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Coach Leon Barmore. “She is a classy lady. When I recruited her from Byrd (High School), I got exactly what I wanted. I got a really solid guard.”
During Katie’s four years with the Tech program, the Lady Techsters posted a 121-15 record and won four Sun Belt Conference titles and played in the 1998 national championship game against Tennessee.
Even today, more than 25 years after finishing her college career, Katie points back to her time at Tech.
“Being connected to Coach Barmore is something I will always value and treasure,” said Katie. “I hope that my girls one day can look back and go, ‘Wow. Coach Katie taught me some life lessons.’ That’s what Coach Barmore did for me.
“That impact is something I’ve always loved about basketball. You can have an impact on people in so many ways.”
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Cedar Creek enters Saturday’s title game against No. 1 seed Southern Lab with an impressive record of 29-3.
The Lady Cougars captured the District 1-1A title this year. They have recorded a number of marquee wins against the likes of Benton, West Monroe, Arcadia, Summerfield, Hamilton Christian, and JS Clark Academy.
And as impressive as all of that is … it’s not what’s important, according to both Katie and her players.
So, what is?
“I think back to when Caroline was playing on Hall of Hoops teams,” said Max James, dad of Caroline James. “From the time that Caroline was at an early age, Katie’s message to them was ‘the game is fun. It should always be fun. It’s a game. We are going to have fun playing it, and we are going to have fun learning it.’
“She knows how to coach kids appropriately at each stage of life. When she came over and started coaching at Cedar Creek and then moved to the varsity ranks, she knew it was a much more competitive atmosphere. It was a much more intense atmosphere.
“So, she adjusted her coaching to that. But at the center of everything, it’s still a game and it’s all about having fun. It’s all about developing yourself as a person and learning how to handle intense situations.”
Anyone who has watched Cedar Creek play this year can see that the Lady Cougars are having fun.
Of course, winning is fun. But even in tough times and tough moments, the Cedar Creek players embrace each other and the game.
And they credit that to their head coach.
“Her coaching style is a perfect mixture of a hard coach who pushes you to be better than you ever thought you could be, but it’s also where you know if you mess up or aren’t understanding something she will break it down and help you,” said Zoey. “She isn’t going to just throw you in the deep in and make you figure it out. She shows you what to do and how to become the players that we have all become.”
“She is always encouraging and uplifting,” said Caroline. “She always has faith in us. She makes an environment that is so fun to be in even during a hard day. You know she has your back.”
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“I love the challenge. I love the reward,” said Katie.
Although Katie is quick to say that the reward isn’t winning a district title or even playing for a state championship title.
All of that is fun. But it’s not the ultimate reward for her as a coach.
On the bus ride home from Hammond on Wednesday following the Lady Cougars dramatic 47-44 win over JS Clark Academy, Katie said she reaped the rewards.
“I sat on the front of the bus and listened to the girls belt out worship music,” said Katie. “I listen to their laughter. I listen to the things that they repeat that I say. I know they are listening. I love the culture that we are building.
“As I say all of this it has nothing to do with basketball. It’s about impacting kids’ lives.”
And impact them she has according to those close to the program and school.
“She puts other people first in everything,” said Max James. “She is creating a culture.”
Zoey may have paid the ultimate compliment to Coach Katie.
“She has become like a second mother to me,” said Zoey. “Anytime I need something, she is one of the first people I would call. She has almost adopted all of us like we are her true daughters. You don’t see very many coaches who take their players and turn them into their actual family and treat us like we are her own.”
Caroline agrees.
“Coach Katie has cultivated this environment,” said Caroline. “She has made this team into a family. Her biggest thing is she wants to let us grow as people. So, she impacts us as players, but she also impacts us in our personal lives. When we walk out of the gym we are trying to make the world a better place.”
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Cedar Creek faces a tall task Saturday.
Southern Lab has won three of the past four state championships and is loaded with talent. They dismantled former Creek district rival OCS 68-16 in Wednesday’s second semifinal.
However, anyone who has seen the Lady Cougars play this year knows better than to count them out before the final horn sounds.
One thing is for certain. Creek will be prepared.
“I think what I have seen with her teams, they are defending,” said Barmore, who came to Creek practice this past Sunday and spoke to the players. “They mix their defenses up. Playing a little zone press, a little man.
“For what she does and who she is, she’s perfect for those kids. I think if you scream and holler at (players these days), I’m not sure that works. I’m sure she gets on them at times, but I think it’s her mannerisms. I think it’s her organization. I just think she (outcoaches) a lot of teams. It’s pretty obvious she is coaching at a really high level.”
High praise from one of her true mentors.
Katie had numerous goals when she took over the varsity program at Cedar Creek two years ago to this month. One of them was to continue the winning tradition.
“It wanted to continue to grow what Coach Van had laid the foundation for and not let him down after what he built here,” said Katie.
Consider that goal accomplished. Now she has an opportunity to help this year’s team make history.
The Lady Cougars have won 17 games in a row. Win No. 18 straight and 30 overall would be the first state championship title in girls’ basketball since the school joined the LHSAA ranks in the 1980s.
And although that fact isn’t lost on her, Katie already knows this team has succeeded regardless of what the scoreboard may read Saturday afternoon.
“Success isn’t the wins or the championships,” said Katie. “It is more about the memories that these girls are making. That’s the success for me. It’s not about wins and losses. This (type of season) is just icing on the cake.”
