VAN BUREN (KFSM) - Randy Loyd won more than 700 games in a decorated career but when Austin Trembley took over at Van Buren, the new head coach didn't shy away from change.
"My coaching philosophy, I think number one and non-negotiable is you gotta bring the energy every day. If I'm lacking energy, they're gonna be lacking energy. So I always tell them my goal is to outdo everybody in energy and enthusiasm," Trembley said. "I'm still young enough to have all that energy but also I've been doing it long enough to learn what not to do and what to do."
"Most enthusiastic person I've ever seen in my life. He never stands still on the sideline. He's always hitting the ground or something, yelling," junior Jordan West said.
Senior Beau Beckner added, "Hype, the whole time he's up on his feet moving around telling us to move our feet, everything that we need to do."
Trembley's transition was eased when longtime coach Randy Loyd stayed on as Van Buren's athletic director. "It couldn't be any better. Coach Loyd is the perfect boss to work for. He's obviously letting me run my program. I don't know if there's a coach in the state that has a better resource in his pocket than to go talk to a hall of fame coach," said Trembley.
Naturally, the Pointers do knock their coach when he gets too energetic.
"Whenever he spits when he talks, he spits all over the place. All the guys start laughing and stuff, it's funny," said West.
That's just a small byproduct of a successful first year for Trembley. Van Buren is 14-10 and has won seven of eleven games in the 7A West.