If the Onalaska basketball girls are to be a reflection of their coach this season, expect a high-energy team. New hire Darrion Anderson is full of enthusiasm, and ready to make a difference for a squad that started out 9-15, but dropped every district game. They were on the short end of contests after the calendar turned to 2025.
Anderson graduated Lufkin High School in 2009 and soon after attended Angelina College. Last year, he was an assistant at Pineywoods Community Academy. It was his first year on the varsity level with the girls. He has also worked with the Lufkin Boys and Girls Club for around a decade.
“It was an awesome first year,” the new coach said. “They are a great bunch of girls. It was my first time working with girls every day like that.”
This is Anderson's first dive into head coaching, and he is thrilled for the chance to prove himself.
“At that point, it was just about the opportunity,” he said. “I have done a camp out here last year and had a really great turnout with the camp. It was a really great time and coach (and athletic director Nicholas Tyerman) got to see me in action. It looks like they liked what they saw. I have been in and out of the community for a while. It has been a heck of a ride, so to finally get my first opportunity as a head coach, I am excited.”
Anderson has had the opportunity to see the Lady Cats up close for a few weeks now through summer workouts. Onalaska has one of the better summer programs in the area, something that paid off last season for the boys team that reached the state semifinals.
“What I have seen so far – I like what I am seeing. They are a bunch of hardworking girls that come to work every day. They give me everything they've got, and that is all I can ask for. I tell them all the time that if we do the work, everything else will show up. We started summer workouts here in June, so we are here during the week Monday through Thursday. From middle school to high school, I am getting the chance to work with all of them.”
True to his word, Anderson was in the gym and ready to operate during the interview.
“We do have a couple of shooters, and we actually have a couple of ball handlers. We just have to work on it more. That is what we are doing. I am seeing Improvement immediately just from working on it every day. Some of the girls are saying that they have dribbled before, but they didn't dribble to where they could handle it in games. We are working on game situation type of stuff and workouts, so everything makes sense to why they are doing it in drills.
“We are going to be up-tempo. We are going to get the ball out, and we are going to run and gun. We're going to get up and down the floor, take shots as needed, but nothing crazy. We are going to let it fly. It is good that we have returning players, especially if we have some upperclassmen that have the potential to help us out. They can kind of show them the ropes on what it means to be a varsity player. Everybody has a fresh start with me, whether you are a senior or you are just coming in. You have to prove what you can do. We are coming to work.”
The team struggled last year, with a lack of numbers and difficulty handling the basketball. Anderson will have plenty of fine tuning ahead to turn his group around in a tough District 23-3A. Anderson-Shiro always has a strong girls program, while Coldspring and New Waverly performed well in the 2024-25 season.
“We will handle business this year and I think we will be fine. I'm not saying we are going to be undefeated or anything, but you will see a different team this year. It will be a better team next year.”
Anderson is in the process of moving to the area. He is making the commute now to work with his group, but is ready to be an Onalaskan.
“I'm going to do what I have to do to make sure we are where we need to be. I tell the girls that I know they get up here every morning, but I get up and drive every morning. If I can be here, please do your best to get the workout.”
The coach said he has had discussions about assisting in other sports, which will be decided at a later date. In the classroom, he will help out with Spanish in labs.
