The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

The online student news source of Lovejoy High School

The Red Ledger

Mitchell’s new challenge

Mitchells new challenge

Five consecutive state championships, sending multiple girls to continue their careers in college and being one of the most well-known coaches in the community. Ryan Mitchell has had ample success as a Leopard. But all good things must come to an end and that end is here after 8 years as Mitchell announced Thursday afternoon that he has accepted the head coaching job at Southlake Carroll High School.

Mitchell has been with the Leopards since the school opened in the fall of 2006 and there’s no doubt he has had a successful career as five consecutive state championships under his belt make for a good resume.

[sidebar title=”A successful resume” align=”left”]

  • 4-time 3A state champion
  • 1-time 4A state champion
  • 315-41 overall record over seven seasons
  • 80-1 overall district record
  • 1 home loss
  • LoneStarVolleyball.com 2012 coach of the year
  • NFHS National High School Coach of the year 2011
  • Dallas Morning News coach of the year 2008

[/sidebar]

Mitchell was not actively looking for a job when he found out about the opening at Southlake.

“The job at Southlake came open about two months ago,” Mitchell said. “They contacted me and asked me if I would be willing to put my name in for the job knowing the success that our program has had and I let them know that I’d think about it and I decided to do that. The thing is I’ve been at Lovejoy eight years and I’ve been very happy and I work with great people, my teams have been great, my current team is great so I wasn’t really looking to move anywhere it’s kind of more of a surprise when they contacted me. I just started thinking about the opportunity.”

The decision almost seemed like deja vu for Mitchell when he began to look at the  Southlake situation.

“Well a lot of the same things that drew me to Lovejoy drew me to Southlake,” Mitchell said. “It’s a one school town, it’s got parents that are invested in their kids’ success, it’s a high academic and athletic school. The rich tradition of athletics is a draw for me. They have won multiple state championships is almost every sport; they’re just a juggernaut when it comes to athletics so that excites me.”

Mitchell made his decision not because one thing was better than the other; simply because he wanted change.

“The main thing for me was just after being here for eight years I just wanted something challenging and exciting for me and my career and I just thought that it was the time,” Mitchell said. “After being here for so long I just need to do something different. It really wasn’t anything bad here or good there is was more just a time for new challenges.”

This is a big loss for Lovejoy.

— Goodrich

Leaving a program he built into a 5-time state champion is undoubtedly hard; not only for the one leaving but the ones left behind.

“This is a big loss for Lovejoy,” principal Gavan Goodrich said. “Coach Mitchell is a coach that has been here from the very beginning and obviously he is probably the best coach in the state of Texas in volleyball. It’s good for Southlake and it’s a tough blow for Lovejoy. But the program is very well established and it has a great reputation and hopefully we will find an excellent coach to replace him.”

The school will soon begin the process of hiring a new head coach but not without the assistance of Mitchell.

“They asked me out of respect to help them identify potential candidates and help them identify someone that is going to carry on the tradition there,” Mitchell said. “I’m very honored that they asked me to do that, it’s not often that they do that but they know how important this program is to me so they thought that I could be vital in helping them find the correct candidate.”

The students here have bought in to what Lovejoy volleyball is all about.

— Mitchell

“I would suspect that they’re already calling people to find out their availability to build a pool of candidates so that we can get the second best coach in the state of Texas at Lovejoy,” Goodrich said.

After eight years, Mitchell will be leaving what has been his home for so long.

“I’m gonna miss the kids,” Mitchell said. “The students here have bought in to what Lovejoy volleyball is all about, they work hard for me everyday in the gym every day outside the gym and I’m just going to miss the relationships and the people. I’m leaving kids that I’m very close to. I think I’m also going to miss the fact that I was a part of the ground floor of Lovejoy and just building it up from the very base and the feeling of pride coming from knowing that I had a lot to do with what was going on.”

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About the Contributor
Jessica Parrott, Sports Editor
Jessica Parrott is a senior, meaning she not only runs the sports section of The Red Ledger, but also the school. With her best friend and fellow staff member Julia Carder by her side, Jessica is going to make this year the best yet. Her favorite sport to cover is football, not only does she love the game but she also loves the boys. Nah, just kidding… slightly. As a senior, Jessica knows that she can literally do anything she wants. Anything. Her favorite saying is “Lord love a duck,” a frequent exclamation made when people do appalling things. She is hoping to attend either Texas Tech or Texas A&M but is also considering Baylor, Oklahoma State, and Arkansas. Ya never know though. She is obsessed with both Friday Night Lights and Gossip Girl, two drastically different shows. The way to her heart is a large Diet Coke from McDonald’s and cabana bowl from Taco Cabana. She is from Boerne, Texas, a suburb outside of San Antonio and she believes to this day that it is the closest to heaven on earth you can get, it’s the Hill Country, it doesn’t get much better. She loves riding boots, flowy tops, and her Texas James Avery ring. Thanks and Gig ‘em, Wreck ‘em, Sic ‘em, Go Pokes, Woo Pig! She’ll let ya know when she decides on a school ;)

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