“Q” doesn’t stand for the question; it stands for the answer to the question: Who’s the new coach-elect of the Llano Lady basketball Jackets? She’s Jessica Quintanilla.

“I’m excited,” Quintanilla says, “because Llano has a great basketball tradition. I want to build on that strength, on that success.”

Coach Q, selected by a committee headed by athletic director, David Yeager, will have to be formally approved by the school board. That’s usually no problem.

Answers to The Quintanilla Quick Quiz: This past year, head coach at Hitchcock, which is west of Galveston; two years at George West; and five at McMullen County. In six of those eight seasons, her teams made the playoffs. She had her first head-coaching job at age 23.

“I don’t think the transition will be that difficult,” the successor to Brandon Walters discloses, “because I think I relate well to kids. You’ve got to sell the program to them, and once they buy into it, everything else takes care of itself. I work hard and with passion, and I work my teams hard.”

Jessica Quintanilla can never run for President--nobody says anything bad about her. “I think she can get the most out of the girls,” Yeager declared. “She’s a student of the game, and she’s won at times when she didn’t have a whole lot of talent.”

“We got a good one,” committee member, Terry Hutto, claimed. “The players will get structure and discipline, and they’ll put forth a lot of effort for her.” Hutto was joined on the selection board by high school principal, Charles Baker; girls’ athletic coordinator, Shawn Sweeten; and fellow basketball parent, Debbie Rabb.

Lady Jackets, Ashley Schroeder and Caitlin Coffey, were interviewed before they learned the new coach had been selected, but they answered questions about, “new replaces old.”

Coffey stated: “Oh, it’s a respect factor; we’ll do our best to do what she says; we know who’s boss.” Schroeder: “She’s the coach, and we’re the players, and if you’re a good player, you’ll do what she tells you to do; as much as we liked coach Walters, we can learn from someone else.”

Jimmy Thomas is the Llano football defensive coordinator; he was athletic director at George West in 2004, and he played a major role in hiring Quintanilla there. “She brings intensity, not only to the games, but to the practices; she’s a real professional. We won our bidistrict round when we weren’t supposed to make the playoffs.”

Quintanilla, who graduated from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 1999, calls Three Rivers home. That’s where a lot of Jacket fans would stop for a lunch buffet, en route to Kingsville, for the region semifinals and finals.

Remember the scene in Hoosiers where the new Hickory coach is asked if he preferred man-to-man or zone defense? Gene Hackman didn’t answer, but the soon-to-be Llano resident had a quick response: “Man-to-man,” and she added, “I like my teams to press, too.”

More on coaching philosophy: “You build on what your girls do best. I have a core set of beliefs,” Quintanilla advises, “but you must cater to the squad on the floor. We, as coaches, have to adjust to the kids to get the most out of them.”