AHS’ Weaver gets coaching award
Behind every successful athletic program, there is a successful coach to instill structure and accountability to her players.
This past season, Arkansas High not only blew past competition but also laid the foundation for the program to be successful in the coming years.
Arkansas High boys head basketball coach Sam Weaver has been selected as the Texarkana Gazette’s All-Area Coach of the Year.
“It’s a tremendous honor and I’m humbled by it. Many people typically give the success of the team to the coach, but I have to give the success we had this season to my players,” Weaver said.
In his first year at the school, Weaver and his staff seemingly took the same 9-15 squad and turned them into a 20-win team that was feared by most Conference 6A teams in the state.
“The guys came in and bought into the system from day one. They did everything that was asked of them and the results speaks for themselves. I didn’t add anything to their game, I just let them go out and play their game,” Weaver said.
And play their game is what the 201617 Arkansas High Razorbacks did.
The Hogs were 23-8 overall and also played for the conference championship against arch-rival El Dorado.
“The conversations we’re having with our returning guys about this past season have been positive. They’re looking at what the seniors did this past season with hopes of continuing the winning tradition going,” Weaver said.
Weaver not only doubled the Hogs win total in one season, he also spearheaded one of the areas prolific scoring tandem in senior guards Taviron Oliver and Kyndal Martin.
“Martin and Oliver laid a foundation that hopefully my young guys can follow. Those two helped us do some special things this past season,” Weaver said.
Martin and Oliver each posted double-digit points per game, propelling AHS to favorable postseason seeding during the conference tournament.
Weaver and his staff took a program that was struggling for conference wins and turned them into a squad that knocked off heavily-favored El Dorado at home and also a postseason birth, which hasn’t been done at Arkansas High in quite some time.
“I’ve always known Texarkana had some great athletes. Traveling as a coach, I never really had time to look into the situation. Once I got here, I couldn’t believe the athletes I had at my disposal. I just honed in on their strengths and we focused on that during the offseason,” Weaver said.