BY DANNY BLEVINS

STAR CORRESPONDENT

How do you replace a coach with the ability of Mike Lunceford?

You hire a coach who is already in the system and one who has just as much talent as a Mike Lunceford. Matt Birchfield was named as a replacement for Lunceford as the Cloudland basketball girls’ head coach on Thursday.

Lunceford retired at the end of the school year.

Coach Birchfield moves up from the middle school girls’ team where he has coached for the last five years.

He has been very successful on the middle school level winning one state championship and losing the 2018-2019 state championship game to a very talented Harriman team in overtime.

Birchfield has coached on the high school level before so he knows there will be ups and downs. He feels like the school has a very talented team that could go deep into the playoffs any time during the next few years.

“Our girls are not really big, but they are very quick, and that will give us an advantage in some of our games,” Birchfield said. “We also have several players returning that will make a big difference, and for the most part, this team is very young.

“We only have one senior on the team and a very talented group of sophomores and juniors.

“I coached every one of these girls in middle school and that really helps us,” Birchfield continued. “They know my system and they will buy into the system easily when we change it to the next level.”

Birchfield is excited about coaching on this level and feels that the school will have a good team for the next few years.

“If we can get by the really good schools like Cosby, North Green, Unaka, Happy Valley, and Hampton, we could have a shot at going deep into this year’s playoffs. My goal is to get us to the state tournament games and take our chances down there.

“It’s all about the girls and pulling the talent they have out and helping them fulfill their potential. That is the one thing I am looking forward to doing,” Birchfield added.

“We have to hit the weight room and the conditioning hard and when the season starts, we will be ready to play. One of the biggest things I am going to try to do is instill a solid work-ethic into the team.

“That and getting them to buy into our program will take work. We may lose some along the way, but that is just how it is.”

Birchfield leaves behind a very successful middle school program that now does not have a coach.

“We have to hash out a few things, but we should be putting a coach in place for the middle school in the next few days,” Birchfield added about the current opening. “We depend on a good middle school feeder program.

“You have a good high school team when you have a good middle school program because they are being prepared early for the next level and for success.”

For now, Birchfield is looking forward to the upcoming camps and getting started on the right track.

“Most of these girls are just coming back from a camp and so we really have already started,” said Birchfield. “We have to put in the work this summer and try to build this team. My hope is that we get better every day, and maybe I can leave this program one day as a successful one.”