David Guadiano was hard at work Tuesday during the second of his four-day basketball camp at the Denison High School Gymnasium and is in the midst of middle school summer leagues, but he was instructing with a heavy heart.
Guadiano announced his intentions to step down from his post as Lady Jackets' head basketball coach to take the same position at Class 1A Sam Rayburn in Ivanhoe. He informed girls athletic coordinator Saundra Hess and told his team on Friday.
"It's always difficult telling the kids you're not going to be there, especially after you've gotten really close to a bunch of them," Guadiano said. "I'll miss them and told them they need to continue to live up to standards as far as being good representatives on and off the court for Denison. I encourage them to work hard for whoever comes in and earn their playing time."
Guadiano compiled an 18-72 record in 90 games as Denison's head coach after coming over from the boys ranks at Taylor High School near Austin. Ask any of his players, and they will speak first and foremost of his ability to keep them motivated.
"Team-wise, I think Denison will be better next year, because the kids have worked extremely hard to get better when it comes to fundamentals and team play," Guadiano said. "Whoever gets the job is really going to like these kids."
It showed on the court, as the Lady Jackets were always a scrappy bunch that played a full 32 minutes but struggled at times due to lack of numbers and being the smallest 4A school in their district. They won one district game in each of the last three seasons, but it couldn't be seen when it came to the players' aggressiveness and team work.
"I enjoyed my time in Denison and had great, hard-working kids who learned how to compete and made some really good progress," Guadiano said. "We had a really good staff as far as teachers and coaches are concerned, and I'm thankful for the support I received from Coach (Bob) Brown and Coach Hess. I cherished my time teaching at Golden Rule and the high school."
The Lady Rebels finished 16-13 in the 2008-09 season, finishing second to Bland and finishing one game ahead of Mike Jones' Trenton team after a tiebreaker game. Celeste, coached by former Sherman coach Heather Lane (who made a similar move one year ago), finished two games behind Sam Rayburn in fourth place.
Unlike Lane, Guadiano isn't making the move to necessarily be closer to his home but sees it as an exciting opportunity with a team losing only two players to graduation.
"Sometimes coaches receive new opportunities to present themselves, and I feel I'm going somewhere where people are passionate. They live and breathe basketball, and I'm excited for the chance to coach there."
Guadiano will be in a different county coaching at a different level, but he feels Denison will be in good hands once a replacement is named.
The same can be said for Sam Rayburn, a team looking to make a name for itself. Guadiano wants to be the man to help make it happen.
"They seem to have a decent bunch from the looks of it, and kept telling me they have a strong freshmen class coming up," Guadiano said. "It's nice for the future to have a lot of youth. I'm looking forward to working with my new team and doing the best we can."
