The Southwestern 4A Conference selected three Independence coaches as Coach of the Year in three different varsity sports activities.
The Patriots Men’s basketball Coach Preston Davis is enjoying his most successful season with the schools basketball program during the 2017-2018 season. The Patriots players have bought into the program and they have accumulated a 29-1 overall record and were undefeated in the Southwestern 4A Conference 14-0. They also won the Southwestern 4A Conference Tournament title.
More recently the Patriots continued their winning ways and earned their spot in the Final Four of the NCHSAA State 4A Championships. They will be competing in the West Regional Finals Championship this Saturday March 3rd to win the bracket. If the Patriots are victorious they will compete for the title of State Champions in Class 4A Men’s Basketball against the East Region finalist. The team is currently ranked 3rd in the state and 48th nationally.
Coach Lauren Galvni took over the Lady Patriots basketball program during very lean times. The team had a difficult time winning basketball games, they were not competitive in their conference. When she arrived at Independence three years ago she had a major rebuilding project, a tremendous challenge to turn the program around. In the first season the team had a dismal record and finished in last place in the Southwestern 4A Conference.
Since then during her second season when 30 girls came to tryout for the team instead of 14 in the previous year the coaches were able to build a JV program to feed the varsity and build a solid foundation in preparation for the future.
In her third season as head coach the team finished with a 13-12 record overall for the Lady Patriots first winning season in nine years. This has been a remarkable turnaround for the Patriots in just three seasons. Coach Galvani, the coaching staff and players deserve all the credit for their dedication and hard work.
Coach Michael Busick who is the coach of the swim team is a new comer to Independence. He has done an excellent coaching job in creating and developing more student interest in the swim program at Independence. The swim team is the largest it’s been in recent years.
The women’s team has grown while the men’s team continues to gain momentum with more participation on campus which will become a major benefit for future development of the program. The teams have been competitive and are making a consistent showing with many team members qualifying for the Regional swim meet. Also, Coach Busick will be taking over the Golf team at Independence this Spring as the teams new coach.
