Alum hired as West's girls' basketball coach

KING — West Stokes announced the hiring of the next girls’ head basketball coach at the end of last week. Alumnus Andy Edmonds (2002) will be the Lady Wildcats 11th coach in program history replacing Julie Gammons, who stepped down in mid-June.

“I am truly blessed to have this opportunity to coach women’s basketball at West Stokes,” said Edmonds. “In my coaching career things have always seemed to happen when they were supposed to, which I consider to be evidence of a far greater plan for my life than I could ever come up with. This has allowed me to have unbelievable relationships with other coaches and the student athletes I’ve coached over the last 18 years.

“I’m also feeling extremely motivated. The young ladies and the coaching staff that will begin this new era in West Stokes Women’s Basketball have many challenges ahead of them. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to lead and face these challenges head on alongside our team.

“As I was going through the interview and the decision making process over the course of a few weeks, there were also some feelings of hurt in leaving Chestnut Grove because of the strong relationships I have with the returning players from last season. Ultimately, change is something that is not only a part of sports, but also a part of life and is something that I speak to my players about a lot and try to prepare them for.”

Edmonds started his coaching career under Kevin Spainhour at Mount Airy for five seasons before moving to West Stokes as an assistant to Dan Spainhour for the next three years. He accepted the head boys basketball coaching position at Chestnut Grove for the 2016-17 season and has spent the past eight years coaching for the Trojans with assistants Brian Sikarske, Trey Wiggins, Brandon Starnes and Nick Frye.

The Wildcats finished 6-18 last season and graduated All-Conference seniors Meg White, Jessica Beasley and Victoria Pulliam. The team returns rising senior Mikailah Wetherington, juniors Reese Hall, Kathryn Davis, Addison Spencer, Payton Spencer and sophomores Aaralyn Pollay and Leah Grace Whitt.

“I feel I’m prepared for this opportunity because of the mentors and coaches that have helped me develop my own coaching style, while relying on qualities and standards that help build a basketball program,” noted Edmonds. “Some of those qualities and standards are strengths that I will bring to the table. I have a strong belief in doing all of the small things well. I will challenge my players to not overlook the small things. I’ve seen time and again in sports that those who are willing to do all the small things will eventually see the big things happen.”

Edmonds believes that mental toughness will also be another key to the team’s success. He has had great success in developing players, taking them from one place to another, and helping them do things they didn’t think they could do. The success over the years has also been a result of a focus on conditioning, discipline, and playing with fundamentals which he plans to emphasize at West Stokes.

The new coach plans to give the current players a workout plan for this summer so they can continuing improving upon their strengths and weaknesses before coming together as a team at the end of October.

“It is my hope that the young ladies will be motivated to improve their individual games over the next couple of months in anticipation of bringing those newly added skills to the equation once we start practice,” added Edmonds.

Another focus will be improving the win/loss record in non-conference play. The Wildcats were 1-23 over the past two seasons.

“It’s an area which we must improve upon as new conference alignments are upon the horizon, and many of those non-conference games may turn into league games,” Edmonds said. “We want to be competitive in those games and work on shrinking the gap between our points allowed and points scored. Again, this is a focus on the details which come down to a few possessions here and there during a game where you either get stops on the defensive end or score on the offensive end.”

Edmonds also wants to focus and help cultivate a love for basketball around the King area for the young girls.

“I know many of the coaches that help lead travel softball and volleyball teams,” said Edmonds. “It’s rather impressive the attention and commitment given to those other sports. I’m hoping that a lot of these coaches and parents will come alongside us to provide girls in our area the opportunity to gain experience and develop a love for basketball too, which means there must be a balance between seasons.”

Edmonds graduated from Lees-McRae College with a bachelor’s in arts focusing on elementary education. He will continue teaching fifth grade at Mount Olive Elementary School.

Edmonds and his wife Jordan will celebrate their 17th wedding anniversary this month and they have four children, Claire, Jett, Callaway and Maverick.

“My family loves basketball, but more importantly we love each other and support each other,” claimed Edmonds. “Jordan has always supported me in coaching and recognizes how much I love and receive fulfillment from doing so.”

West Stokes will host a meet and greet on Monday, July 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the school’s cafeteria for any new or returning players interested in participating in basketball this up-and-coming season.