Secrest in at Wilson Fike
April 22, 2009 North Carolina
By Paul Durham
Wilson Daily Times
WILSON - The varsity boys basketball head coaching job at Fike High School has been such a coveted position that only six men have held the job in the school's 51 years.
But no one has to tell Brent Secrest that.
The 42-year-old has waited 16 years and now he has his chance. The school announced Thursday that Secrest would become the seventh Fike basketball coach, promoting the 13-year junior varsity coach to succeed George Drawhorn, who is retiring after a program-record 19 years at the helm.
"It's a privilege to do it at Fike," Secrest said Monday afternoon. "There's been a long history at Fike, not just in basketball but in all athletics. It's a privilege to be part of this coaching staff."
Fike Athletic Director John Gay said that despite nearly 40 applicants for the position, Secrest was the obvious choice, having spent 16 years at the school and as part of the basketball program.
"He's a guy who goes a step beyond," Gay said. "That's the kind of person you want to hire: someone who sees beyond the job and understands the family concept.
"He's put in his time as an understudy and I think his time has come. We talked to some others but, in the end, Brent was our guy."
Secrest is a native of Shelby, Ohio, and a graduate of Ohio State University. He and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: Alexander, 10, and Elizabeth, 6.
The son of a basketball coach and a former point guard in high school, Secrest seems a likely coaching candidate.
Drawhorn believes Fike found the right man to succeed him.
"I think he's going to do a real good job," Drawhorn said. "He's very organized in his practice duties, he's a disciplinarian and he's good with X's and O's. He knows what he's doing."
Secrest describes Drawhorn as "a tough act to follow."
"He's got a lot of wins and did a lot of great things for the program," Secrest said. "I just hope I can be as successful in following in his footsteps and hopefully I'll learn something along the way."
Drawhorn knows something about following a tough act. He succeeded the late Harvey Reid Jr., the state's all-time winningest high school coach. Reid brought Drawhorn in to be his successor and Drawhorn found himself thrust into the head coaching position when Reid unexpectedly passed away late during Drawhorn's first season as a Fike assistant.
Drawhorn's advice to Secrest is simple.
"The main thing you can't do is let people compare you to me," Drawhorn said he told Secrest. "That's what I had to learn. He's going to have to do his own thing."
Secrest said their coaching styles are different, admitting with a chuckle: "He's -- believe it or not -- a little more laidback than I am."
On the court, Secrest promises a defense-first mentality.
"That's what I've always stressed with the J.V. teams," he said. "Your offense is going to happen; I'm not worried about who's scoring, I'm worried about who's playing defense and who's rebounding."
Secrest said he has extended offers to his former colleagues on Drawhorn's staff -- Bill Robinette and Anthony Barnes -- to return to the Fike bench next season.
Secrest mused on the challenges of getting his players to excel in the classroom as well as the basketball court as well as the loss to graduation of Jeremy Atkinson, who scored 2,001 points in his Golden Demons career.
"But I guess the biggest challenge is probably being able to step in and continue the great Fike tradition," Secrest said. "I've been coaching the kids through J.V. and they know me and they know my style so I'll get along with the kids fine and they'll buy into the system all right, it's just that I'm not oblivious to the pressure there is in Fike basketball. There has been a great tradition and that's going to be something to live up to." |
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