Tascosa expected to hire Wellington's Chris Sumrall as girls hoops coach
Hart Pisani
After seven years roaming the sidelines for the Wellington Lady Skyrockets, head coach Chris Sumrall is on the move.
AISD Athletic Director Brad Thiessen announced Thursday that Sumrall will be the new girls basketball coach for the Tascosa Lady Rebels pending a board approval.
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Sumrall brings 25 years of head coaching experience with him to Tascosa, which includes leading the Lady Skyrockets to the regional finals in 2019, 2020 and 2021, has multiple Coach of the Year honors and won a state championship in cross country last year.
His career record as a girls basketball coach is 557-216.
“We are so excited about Coach Sumrall coming to Tascosa as the Head Girls Basketball Coach,” Thiessen said via a press release. “He brings 25 years of head coaching experience and a wealth of playoff games involved in those years. The reputation of Coach Sumrall across the state of Texas is impeccable. We feel very fortunate to have him lead our team at Tascosa.”
Sumrall replaces Betsy Baughman, who departs for a similar position at Groom High School.
He said he'll miss the relationships he formed at Wellington but is looking forward to the next step.
"It's a mixed bag of emotions," he said. "I'm beyond excited to get started at Tascosa and what lies ahead there, but I'm really heartbroken and sad about the kids and the relationships and the people we're leaving behind at Wellington."
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Though the jump from Class 2A to 5A may seem significant, Sumrall insists he's not worried.
"I don't know if there are any pluses and minuses," he said. "Honestly, I've never really looked at (classification) and thought that was a big thing. I've never said, 'Hey, I've got to be a 5A coach' or 'I don't wanna be a 1A coach.' That was never important to me. I think kids are kids and basketball is basketball and people are people.
"I think if you treat people with respect and have their best interests at heart, things will work out for you."
Sumrall inherits a Tascosa team that went just 6-14 last season with the program's only state championship coming in the 1990-91 season. He didn't say anything about wins and losses, or postseason expectations, but he talked at length about establishing a culture that should lead to victories in time.
"I want to establish a culture of hard work, a culture of unselfishness and a culture of shared sacrifice," Sumrall said. "Those three things to me are really important. If we can do those three things then I think we have a chance to be successful in the long run."