The search has begun for a new girls’ basketball coach at Llano High. You can read about some of the candidates and non-candidates and a lot of speculation on this page.

The Llano News is very much impressed with the committee selected to look for a successor to Brandon Walters.

Athletic director, David Yeager, will lead the group, and his colleagues will include girls’ coordinator, Shawn Sweeten; high school principal, Charles Baker; and two parents, Terry Hutto and Debbie Rabb. Both have decades of ties to the school.

The perfect choice, of course, is someone who has proven he or she can win a state championship, and help the girls do well in the classroom and be role models for the community and beyond.

No more fantasy will be allowed in this editorial. The committee can only do its best to see that Llano High adds an outstanding person to its staff. There will be no way of knowing, for certain, if that coach can win on the court and be an important guide in a young woman’s life in matters that transcend the three-point line.

The good news is: all of the people in the selection process have had numerous years of experience, either in the arena, itself, or on the sidelines with a front-row view of the positive aspects of the game--and the game of life.

They know we all want to win, but the “Winning is Everything” motto is rarely invoked in a place like Llano where the citizens are more interested in how the girls will meet all the challenges of high school and so much beyond.

What a daunting responsibility you have! But you have it because of the excellent work you’ve done in the past--you’ve hired fine people for athletics and for the classroom.

The Llano News feels the community is behind you, and we all look forward to your decision.

We urge the administration and the board of trustees to back you recommendation -- one that will hopefully keep the girls program that dynasty it has been for the past 10 years.

Art Dlugach, Sports Writer