Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 8, 1993 TAG: 9307080157
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: RADFORD LENGTH: Medium
King decided that being a woman in a man's world was keeping her away from the men she cared about most - her husband, Danny, and her 3-year-old son, Jared.
King, who never carried over her success as a girls' coach to the boys' game, said the demands of coaching both teams have taken a toll on her and on her family.
"I knew a great sacrifice would have to be made [to coach both teams], but my family has sacrificed enough," said King, who submitted her resignation to Radford Principal Buddy Martin on June 28.
"Tossing a ball up in the air from August [when the girls' team begins practice] until March [when the boys' season ends] has been a tremendous strain for me and my family. I've always been a perfectionist. I wanted to be the perfect mother and perfect wife, but everyone was suffering."
In 1991, King became the first woman in a half-century to coach a boys' high school basketball team in Virginia. She replaced Martin, who resigned in the spring of '91 to concentrate on his new duties as principal.
In five seasons coaching the Radford girls' team, King has compiled a 101-32 record, including state Group AA championships in 1988 and 1990.
Her boys didn't fare as well. The Bobcats, often undersized and overmatched, went 11-35 in two seasons.
After going 3-19 in 1991-92, the boys' record improved last season to 8-16, giving Radford its first Region IV playoff berth in five years.
"I'm pleased with the progress we've made in the boys' program," King said. However, "one of the toughest things about walking away is that there's this sense I've left some unfinished business.
"I put two tough years into the boys' program, but I've put seven years into the girls' program [as an assistant and head coach]."
King was one of several Timesland basketball coaches who served double duty. Because Group A and Group AA girls play basketball in the fall, Floyd County's Alan Cantrell, Fort Chiswell's Danny Jonas, Giles' John Howlett and Auburn's Kevin Harris coached the girls' and boys' teams at their respective schools last season.
Coaching two sports "can be very time-consuming and very taxing to a family," said Cantrell, who has guided the Floyd girls and boys to the Group A state tournament.
"If you have success with the girls, you wind up working with both programs at the same time [in November, when the girls are in the playoffs and the boys are beginning preseason practice]. It's stressful not having time to recuperate going from one season to the next."
It was toward the end of the 1992-93 boys' season that King decided she needed to give up one of her positions. She applied for the girls' vacancy at Christiansburg, but last week that position went to Danny Knott, a former Christiansburg junior varsity coach.
"If I had gotten the Christiansburg job, it would have forced me to give up coaching boys," King said. "When I didn't get it, I was forced to choose one [job] over the other. I hated doing that."
Martin, who has been on vacation, could not be reached for comment. The Radford School Board is scheduled to hold its regular meeting tonight, but none of the school board members contacted on Wednesday knew if King's resignation would be acted upon at that meeting.
"Brenda has done an outstanding job coaching the boys," said Radford athletic director Norman Lineburg, who received a copy of King's resignation letter. "The team hasn't been that talented the past few years, but she worked hard and coached hard."
Radford has at least two in-house candidates to become the boys' coach: Rick Cormany and Larry Mannon.
Cormany, who could not be reached for comment, came to Radford as a guidance counselor from Grayson County in the spring. In 10 years coaching Grayson County and Rocky Gap, Cormany had a record of 160-76 with five Mountain Empire District championships to his credit.
Mannon, a longtime Radford staff member who coaches the golf and boys' tennis teams, was a finalist for the boys' basketball job two years ago when King was chosen.
Since King's hiring as boys' coach, two other women have been hired to coach boys' basketball at Virginia schools - Lori McConnell, who was hired at George Mason in 1992, and Debbie Taylor, who was named the boys' coach at Goochland in the spring.
Memo: Shorter in Metro