Darrell Hendrix named new head coach of Lynn Camp Lady Cats basketball

With Rodney Clarke now manning the helm for the boys basketball team, Darrell Hendrix has assumed the reins for the Lynn Camp Lady Cats. Hendrix is no stranger around the Lynn Camp campus. With wife Nikki Hendrix serving as the head coach of the softball team, he is an assistant coach for them as well. He also spent four years as the defensive coordinator for the football team.

Hendrix said that he and his wife talked about him taking the job, and felt like it was a perfect fit.

“We discussed it a lot,” he said. “It felt like the perfect fit. I love this place. I spend a lot of time here helping out with the softball team, so it makes a lot of sense with how well I know the students and my familiarity with the school. We know that it’s going to be challenging; there are going to be a lot of 16 and 17 hour days. But, we are both excited about it and are looking forward to getting to work. I went to Williamsburg, and never thought I’d be coaching here. They were a rival for us growing up. Nikki got the job here and commuted from Corbin for a while, then we moved down here. We love this school and have ever since day one. It feels like the perfect fit.”

He added that he felt like his connection to the softball team would be beneficial in the two teams working in coordination.

“We have a lot of cross-sport athletes,” he said. “We are excited about the fact that we can work together to benefit them in both sports. We can have them hitting the field for a little while, then hit the gym and get to work on the court.”

Darrell joked that he and Nikki will more than likely engage in some friendly competition and highlighted that they already give each other a hard time with some light ribbing.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” he said. “Nikki and I already have a blast coaching together. Every once in a while we like to give each other a hard time with a little bit of trash talk. It’s always in good fun, and we have a blast picking at each other.”

He stated that his main goal is to get his young team in shape in order to immediately become as competitive as possible.

“Coach Clarke inherited a young team,” he said. “The girls really bought-in to what he was trying to do, and he has them on the right track. My main focus is conditioning. I feel like the quickest way to become as competitive as possible is to be in good shape. I really want to run the court on both sides of the ball. Transition offense, press defense and hard-nosed play is what we want. I think we have a great group of girls that are willing to put in as much work as it takes. I’m excited to get to work.”

He added how thankful he was to the administration for the opportunity to coach the team. “I appreciate Mr. Pennington and the administration for giving me this opportunity. Being able to coach at the high school level is something that I’ve always wanted to do.”

Courtesy of John Dunn, Barbourville Mountain Advocate