Wayne Lynch was a two-sport star in high school, and a two-sport coach at Porters Chapel Academy.

This season, he might try for the trifecta.

Lynch, PCA’s head football coach and an assistant for the baseball team, will add to his resumé by taking over the school’s boys basketball program.

Lynch will be the head coach for the varsity and junior varsity boys teams. He’ll replace Allen Ward, who left after one season to take an assistant coaching position at Yazoo County High School.

 

Porters Chapel finished 7-10 last season, a year after it won the MAIS Class A championship. All five starters from the championship team graduated after the Eagles won the title.

“I’ve always loved basketball. Football is my first love, but basketball is second,” Lynch said. “Coach Ward left, so this became available and I asked if I could do it. I played basketball in high school. It took a back seat to football, but I’ve always enjoyed basketball.”

Lynch was a standout football and baseball player at Warren Central, and later played football at Hinds Community College. He also played basketball at Warren Central, but eventually gave it up to focus on the other sports.

He’s continued to play basketball in pick-up games over the years, he said, and will try to combine that knowledge with a strong work ethic to make up for a lack of coaching experience in the game.

“I know the game. I study everything I do, and I’ll spend a lot of time studying this,” he said. “I know the fundamentals and how to teach them. I feel like I’ll be successful.”

Lynch also expects his experiences from football and baseball to translate well to basketball. As athletes from both sports cross over to the court alongside him, he feels the relationships built on the gridiron and the diamond will foster a respect that will help him grow into his new job.

“Just like with anyone else, once you build a relationship and demand respect, it’s going to be there,” Lynch said. “They’ll trust me and do what I ask them to do. As a coach, that’s all you can ask of them.”

Lynch said he wasn’t yet sure whether he’ll continue in his role as an assistant coach with the baseball team. The demands of coaching one sport are great, and coaching sports in back-to-back seasons increases them exponentially.

Basketball coaches, in particular, can often work 16 hours on game days between their teaching and coaching duties.

Lynch said juggling all of that, as well as family time, will be a challenge. His goal, though, is to build a strong overall athletic program at PCA and he feels taking on both head coaching jobs will help accomplish it.

“It’ll be tough transitioning for me and my family. I’m really trying to spend as much time with the guys at the school as I can and build some pride into them,” Lynch said. “We’ve done a great job of changing the mindset of the school and the kids that go there. We want to continue doing that.”