On Saturday, May 12, Coach Benjamin Daniels announced his resignation as varsity women’s basketball head coach at Leesville. Daniels will also be leaving his teaching position at Leesville and taking a job at a school closer to his home.
Daniels has been head coach for the past three years, however his decision to step down comes due to family matters. “I decided to step down from coaching just to spend more time with my family…right now I have a toddler and a second kid on the way,” said Daniels. The Leesville women’s basketball program, as well as all of Leesville, will miss Coach Daniels.
Daniels leaves behind a huge impact on the women’s basketball program here at Leesville. During his three seasons as head coach, the team had a total of 63 wins as well as playoff appearances all three years. This past season Daniels lead the team to a 28-5 record, the best recorded record in school history. The team also made it to the third round of playoffs, something that hasn’t been done at Leesville for a long time.
Leaving the program was not an easy decision for Daniels. Coaching has been a huge part of Daniels’ life for many years and he will miss it, especially here at Leesville. “I’ve been lucky here at Leesville to have a special group of kids to work with, not only are they talented athletes but just great kids. I learned a lot from them, and I really enjoyed getting to watch them grow and develop,” said Daniels.
Not only will Daniels miss coaching; he will miss the Leesville community as a whole. “I couldn’t have asked for a better place to come and work for the past three years…I think this is a truly special place and it’s very bittersweet to be leaving,” said Daniels.
Coach Daniels will be finishing the 2017-2018 school year at Leesville and, he would like for any students who wish to say goodbye to stop by his room before the year of the year.
