In his first three months on the job, Lehman athletic coordinator and head football coach Todd Raymond says he has tried to open lines of communication among parents, the community and the athletic department. (Photo by Judy Cooper)
by WES FERGUSON
Todd Raymond might preach intensity to his football players, but he has taken a lower-key approach to managing Lehman High’s other sports as he settles into his role as athletic coordinator and head football coach.
In his first three months on the job Raymond says he has tried to open lines of communication among parents, the community and the athletic department, but he has not made any changes to the coaching staff he inherited from previous athletic coordinator Steve Davis, who resigned under pressure in January.
“For the most part, this is not a situation where I have to come in and totally revamp everything,” Raymond said. “Once summer rolls around we’ll really be able to sit down as a department and make any adjustments we need to make to policies and procedures.
“It’s going to come down to me sitting down with the coaches from other sports, getting their feedback and seeing if we can come up with a consensus. Even though I’m athletic coordinator and I make the final call, I want everybody to feel like they’ve got ownership in the program.”
The hands-off approach could also be a matter of timing: most spring sports were already gearing up, in full swing or winding down when Raymond was hired in late February – too late to make any sweeping decisions.
Head boys basketball coach Thomas Acker said Raymond has not directly tried to reshape the hoops team or its offseason drills. Even so, Acker said, Raymond’s presence has breathed new life into an athletic program that had grown complacent toward the end of the Davis era.
“Personally, I feel challenged,” Acker said. “Not that coach Raymond has challenged me, but I feel challenged to do a good job and make sure that our basketball program is in line with his wishes. Just having a new spirit there has motivated me and our whole program to move forward.”
Acker said he likes Raymond’s ideas and “vibe” but is waiting for the newness to wear off to see how his fingerprints will be felt on the program over the long haul.
“There’s a little ‘wait and see,’ but I think the outlook is good,” Acker said. “I like Coach. I like what he says, and I like a lot of his ideas. Time will tell when we get into fall and sports are starting up. Like anybody else coming in, you don’t want to rock the boat too early. He’s been really good about being fair, sitting back and observing.”
Raymond’s most pressing decision as athletic coordinator will be how to replace head softball coach Nicole Herrera, who stepped down from her coaching duties at the conclusion of the tumultuous 2012 season. Her husband Luis coaches JV baseball and is the football team’s offensive line coach, and having two parents as coaches was too much strain for their family, Raymond said.
“She’s making a decision that’s best for her family, and I have to respect that,” Raymond said. “I would do the same thing if it came down to it. We’ve got that job posted, and we’ll try to sit down (this week) and look at resumes to get that going as quickly as possible.”
Also this week, Raymond and his own family are moving into a home they have bought in Kyle. Ready to put down new roots, he says he has developed a good relationship with fellow Hays CISD head football coach Blake Feldt and wants his players to think of the two schools less as rivals than as two parts of the same community.
Raymond said it’s obvious that some Lehman players and many fans consider their team the stepchild of the school district, but he has tried to downplay that feeling in the locker room and the stands. The Lehman football program plays its home games across town at Hays High School, and the team has never defeated the Rebels, though the Lobos came close before losing in heartbreaking fashion last season.
“I want our kids to understand they’re no different than anybody else,” he said. “It’s going to happen at some point. When we do beat them I don’t want our season to be over in our kids’ minds. That’s honestly a bigger concern to me than beating (Hays). The last thing the kids need is to be more uptight about that stuff.”
With the conclusion of spring football drills, players are taking a short break before the 7-on-7 season and speed and strength workouts begin this summer. Kenny Higgins, a returning starter on the offensive line, said he hopes to make the playoffs under Raymond’s leadership this fall.
“Once we start playing against teams and start bonding, it’ll be good,” he said.
