Mid-season coaching changes can be tough for a team.
And Elizabethton interim girls basketball coach Lucas Andrews said his main goal right now is to keep the Lady Cyclones focused on basketball.
“Today, when we went into practice, we didn’t talk about anything,” said Andrews who took the reins of the Lady Cyclones program after the resignation of coach Barry Johnson Monday. “We just went to practice. We have a busy week this week. We just kept everything basketball. We just have to focus on getting better and competing this week and weeks to come.”
Before coming to Elizabethton High School as an assistant this season, Andrews served as the Cloudland High School girls basketball coach from 2015-2017. During his stint in Roan Mountain, Andrews held a 34-27 coaching record. Andrews said he is ready to hit the ground running after his position change Monday.
“Once it happens, you just have to sit back and evaluate what’s going on then try move forward and do what’s best for the team,” said Andrews. “We want to be able to compete night and night out. We have a lot of teams in our league that are good.”
At this point in the season, the Lady Cyclones hold a 2-6 record overall while being 0-2 in the Three Rivers Conference. Andrews, however, said that the Lady Cyclones record does not reflect their drive to win.
“We have got some grit,” said Andrews. “These girls have a lot of heart. They put in a lot of effort. That is one thing that I have been excited about being here at Elizabethton. They have a lot of fight in them, and if you got that, you can build on that and put yourself in a good position to win.”
The Lady Cyclones will travel to Happy Valley this Friday for a Three Rivers Conference contest.