CHINA SPRING, Texas — It's a new era for China Spring. From the ground up, our Cougars have a new coaching staff for boys and girls basketball.
"I'm still learning as I go right now," said China Spring boys basketball head coach, Robert Garcia. He continued, "But I mean as far as things go, things have been really good. The people I've met look like they're really hard workers and stuff. And so I'm really looking forward to the year."
"In a way. It's easy because, you know, I'm new. So everybody else being new at the same time kind of gives everybody a fresh start. One of the assistants I was able to bring with me is my cousin. So there's some familiarity there," China Spring girls basketball head coach, Cannon Earp, said.
This is a big change for the coaches, but also for the athletes. They've met each other and are starting to work together.
"We've been open to the change just because we didn't quite reach some of our goals last year. And so we've been open to see like what he can bring to us and what kind of team he wants to build," senior Hudson Phillips said.
"I think they were a little bit nervous at first, but once we got to know them, like everything's gonna be good, like they seem like good people, good coaches. So we're excited," senior Kirsten Jewell said.
The preseason is about to begin for China Spring. For our new coaches, they are excited to face new challenges this season.
"I'm gonna be learning as I go, you know, trading into new territory and seeing how things work. One thing I know about this place is there are a lot of great kids, a lot of great kids of characters. So that part, you know, is kind of already there. So, like I said, it makes my job a whole lot easier," Garcia said.
"I'm moving over to the girls side. Just being honest, I've got three girls and that's the reason for making the switch. They're getting older almost in junior high and I want to coach them. and since day one, this has felt like what I should have been doing the whole time," Earp said.
Still in the early stages, but we will see how this new look Cougar basketball program looks in the coming months.