ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, May 21, 1996 TAG: 9605210078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BOB TEITLEBAUM STAFF WRITER
THE KNIGHT ASSISTANT and former basketball player gets a chance to fulfill his dream of serving as head coach at his alma mater.
To no one's surprise, Billy Hicks was introduced as the boys' basketball coach to the Cave Spring Boosters Club Monday.
Hicks, the seventh head coach at the school in 14 years, is a former Cave Spring player and was an assistant under head coach Chris Carr the past two years. He said he feels he's the man to put a stop to the instability that has marked the program.
``I feel like being entrenched in the community, coming from Cave Spring, having coached here for two years, I'm in touch with some of the problems that might arise and some of the other benefits [here] that other people might not know about,'' said Hicks.
``There might have been people from out of the area who applied for the job with better credentials than myself, but there wasn't anybody who was more qualified for this specific position because of my knowledge of the community and players, things that are expected and my relationship with Dr. [Martha] Cobble.''
Cobble, the school principal, was at Hidden Valley Middle School when Hicks was a player there and was high on Hicks from the start.
``It's wonderful to hire a former student, to see a student who progressed through the system become skilled to the point that he's ready to take on the helm of the Knights' varsity program and become a teacher at our school,'' said Cobble.
``We have not anticipated the changes in the past. Each time we hire a person, we want to make an investment in them and for them to continue with us.''
Hicks, 30, is a special education teacher who doesn't currently teach at the high school. However, it is the recommendation of Cobble that Hicks be named as both a coach and a teacher at the high school. In her tenure as principal, one of Cobble's goals was for all coaches to be teachers at the high school.
Hicks played for Rudy Lacy, who was the only head boys' basketball coach to have a long tenure at the school. When Lacy retired, Hicks played for Garland Berry and the parade of coaches began.
Hicks beat out William Byrd assistant Ed Culicerto for the job. The two were both candidates for the position when Carr was selected two years ago. Hicks also was interviewed for the vacancy at Patrick Henry, but he says there was no doubt that his first choice was Cave Spring.
``This is something I always wanted to do. A lot of people grew up wanting to be lawyers and doctors. I grew up wanting to be a high school basketball coach. I always wanted to come back to Cave Spring. I enjoyed my time here. Cave Spring basketball did a lot for me. It's my chance to come back and give back a little,'' said Hicks.
``I would liked to have started [my head coaching career] two years ago. But I'm very comfortable with myself as a person and my abilities as a coach. The last two years under Chris have given me a chance to grow a little bit and get that varsity experience that I lacked.''
Hicks coached at Hidden Valley for seven years under Al McLearn, now the principal at Glenvar. He said he learned a valuable lesson from McLearn, a former head football coach.
``At Hidden Valley in my first year, he would call me into his office after each technical foul. I'd have to talk it over with him and tell him why I got it. It helped,'' said Hicks.
After playing at Cave Spring, Hicks played for Ed Green at Roanoke College. Oddly, Green is considered a slight front-runner for the PH job. If Green lands with the Patriots, it would pit student against ex-coach in the Roanoke Valley District race next winter.
Hicks is also the uncle of Lord Botetourt girls' standout Sarah Hicks, who was the Timesland Player of the Year this past season when she helped lead the Cavaliers to a Group AAtitle.
Hicks and his wife, Cherie, also are expecting their first child in October, shortly before basketball practice officially opens.
LENGTH: Medium: 79 linesby CNB