LONGVIEW, Texas — Longview High School has welcomed a familiar face to take over their girls' basketball program. Max Ward has left the boys program as their assistant coach and accepted the head coaching position for the Lady Lobos.
"Max Ward's been a big part of our basketball program (boys and girls) the last three years. He's great working with all levels and has a plan," said Athletic Director John King. "We had a lot of interest from across the state, a lot from out of state had. Some even had some college coaches look into it."
Ward has over 20 years of coaching experience to bring a new style of play to the Lady Lobos. In his 22 years as a coach, Ward has coached at Cal State University-Dominguez Hills, Johnson & Wales University and Northshore High.
That being said, Ward has always wanted to lead the girls' program but hasn't had the opportunity.
"The Lady Lobos was something I wanted a couple of years ago," Ward said. "I've just been fortunate enough that it came back around to me and put my name in the hat and I was very appreciative that Coach King selected me for the head coaching job."
Ward will have tough shoes to fill as Meagan Leggett was a standout Longview player herself, and she led the team to a 24-9 finish last season. They also made it to the third round of playoffs for the first time since 2010.
"I have to continue the legacy that she has tried to continue and build on it," Ward said. "With that said, we have a lot of great pieces coming back and some girls with some experience, and they work extremely hard."