Frisco ISD’s newest high school, Memorial, officially opens its doors on Aug. 16. To get ready for its first year, school administrators at Memorial have been busy hiring coaches to lead the Warriors in their first year of varsity sports. However, the Warriors gain is a Redhawk’s loss as assistant girls’ basketball coach Rochelle Vaughn and assistant boys’ soccer coach Adam Cecil have been named head coaches at Memorial.

“I have the opportunity to be the girls’ head basketball coach over there and open up a brand new schools and start the cultures and traditions,” Vaughn said. “It’s exciting and not many people get that chance.”

After a total of five years of assistant coaching, Cecil will take his career to the next level, jumping at the job opportunity to advance.

“I took the job at Memorial because it is a step up for me,” Cecil said. “It’s a cool opportunity to be the first head coach at that high school. They really like to help the people that have been in the district and know about the Frisco way. I think it is important when you find someone who really enjoys being in the district. It’s not a lot of change for that person.”

For boys’ head coach Fred Kaiser, next year will come with a new dynamic as he will face off against a former colleague when soccer starts up next spring.

“I’m excited for him,” Kaiser said. “That’s good opportunity. He’s done a lot of learning and a lot of growing in the last couple years and he’ll do a fantastic job as coach, but we face off against them first game of district at their place. So it should be fun.”

The loss of coaches isn’t unique to the Redhawks. Independence is just of several other schools that are losing personnel to Memorial.

“Our assistant golf coach, Whitney Doverspike, will be the new head golf coach at Memorial next year,” Independence athletic coordinator Kyle Story said via email. “The hardest part about losing coaches is finding the right coach to replace them through the interview process. This can be a challenge because the prospective candidate must have knowledge of the game, personality to build relationships with players and motivate them to succeed, and be a great classroom teacher with the correct certification for the open position. All of these factors can make it difficult to find the right person.”

With Frisco ISD opening several new high schools in the last five years, district officials face something of a catch-22 on a regular basis.

“It is a challenge,” FISD athletic director David Kuykendall said via email. “However, the reputation the district has both academically and athletically continues to draw the ‘best of the best’ coaches to apply.”