Brandon Walters, one of the most successful coaches in any sport in Llano High School history, is going home. He and his wife, Kara, and their two boys and a girl, will move to the Winnsboro area, in east Texas, to be closer to both sets of grandparents.

Walters took over for near-legend, Jacquetta Brown, in 2003, and his girls’ basketball teams went out and won 145 games in five seasons. The 2007 squad reached the Class-3A Final Four, and the Lady Jackets of ‘05 and ‘08 got to the Region IV Finals. The other two teams advanced to the region quarters and region semis.

“It’s one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made,” Walters said, “and I’m not even sure it’s the right thing,” but he indicated the families being together is very important. You know how hard it was when you hear from him and his team how emotional he became when he told the girls on Monday, May 19.

“When you see a coach break down the way he did,” junior Caitln Coffey pointed out, “it shows how much he cared for us.”

Another junior, Lainey Wright, declared: “We’ve grown as a unit together, and coach Walters is a huge reason for our success.” There was an explosion of success this past winter as Llano won 35 games, probably the highest total in school history.

“You know, Kara and I thought about this a couple of times before, but I kept on saying, ‘I can’t leave this team!’ I saw them play in the summer league in Fredericksburg, May 12, and I thought, ‘These girls are good.’ I’m not leaving because Cierra Thompson, Cassidy Rabb and Jimee Jensen are graduating.”

Thompson was a big factor the Lady Jackets won the district championship three straight years, 2006-2008, posted a gaudy record of 27-1 during that time, and averaged 74 points a game in district this season. “You better believe this is upsetting to the girls,” CT maintained. “The coach is like our second dad; he’s like family.”

“I’m really going to miss him,” junior Lauren Parker stated. “We meshed well this past year. I respected every decision he made, so I’m going to respect this one; I know he’s making the move for his family.”

Walters, who went to high school in Winnsboro, does not know what he’s going to do. He was head coach at nearby Como-Pickton for four years before coming to Llano. He spent seven years in the Navy before getting into education. Kara teaches elementary school.

“We’re thankful we had such a great coach for a year,” sophomore Olivia Hutto said, seeking the silver lining. “We’re a strong team, we can handle having a new coach.” Coffey admits the transition will be difficult, “because coach Walters knows us so well.”

“I have thoroughly enjoyed the last five years,” Walters disclosed. “I’ve had great moments in games and at practice with the players, and I was always pleased when the graduates came back and stopped by. I don’t ever expect to have such a relationship again with any team as I had with all the girls I coached in Llano.”