PG

State University. He is currently in his third year at Pleasant Grove and has been the junior varsity coach for three seasons.

“It’s been a successful program; I want to continue on with what the previous coach did and keep building it up from the seventh grade up,” McCowan said. “PGYA does a great job, and the kids are very skilled and have a high basketball IQ. I’m trying to continue pushing their skills forward; that’s my goal.”

Coach McCowan spent a year as head coach at Pittsburg, then two years as an assistant coach at Detroit plus a year as head coach. He was an assistant coach at Grambling State University before coming over to PG.

“It makes for a smoother transition that I’m familiar with the kids and they’re familiar with me,” McCowan said. “The first group I had just graduated; I’ve had pretty much every kid in the program with the exception of two or three. They know what my expectations are and what I’ll do.

“I want to continue the growth of this program, as a part of the growth of the growth at the school as a whole. There’s a lot of good things happening, not just in football, basketball, but academically. It’s a great place to be at and coach.”

The new high school girls’ coach has been with Pleasant Grove for six years. She began her coaching career with Smackover High School (six years), from there she went to New Boston High School (two years) and then to PG.

“I am excited and am ready to get back to the high school level,” Cowling said. “I have coached most of the varsity girls in junior high, so I know them and they know me. I feel blessed to have this opportunity.”

Coach Cowling said that she likes the direction the program is headed.

“I think I have high-caliber players,” Cowling said. “They are hungry for success and are willing to put in the hard work.”

Athletic Director Josh Gibson has been impressed with Cowling’s resume and what she has done with the Lady Hawk middle school program.

“Marsha has had a lot of success in the past in two sports, making deep runs in the playoffs in both basketball and softball,” Gibson said. “She’s talented; she played collegiate basketball and was a student of the game at an early age. She took some time off when she had kids, and they’re older now and she’s ready to jump back in as a high school head coach.

“Over the last four years, when you go watch our middle school girls play, you could tell they’re always more well coached than their opponents; I think you can count on one hand how many games our ‘A’ teams have lost in four years. She’s really good fundamentally and at getting kids to reach their potential, and she’s also very familiar with these kids. I’m fired up to get her running that program.”

McCowan has also been an assistant coach on the Hawks’ football team and is also active in summer basketball programs.

“We could’ve opened up a statewide search and get as many candidates as we could, but with working with Dwight the last three years and seeing how proactive he’s been as an assistant, we felt like we had the best candidate already,” the Pleasant Grove Athletic Director said. “He’s got such a passion, a wealth of knowledge and is always trying to grow the program.”

“The first year Dwight was here as an assistant, and I was down in Austin watching the boys (baseball team) at state he showed up at the game. I thought he showed up just as a fan, but he was down there working with the University of Texas, at their basketball camp. He’s always searching for ways to get better. He brings a lot of energy, and he’s pushing to get our kids on the court together, as much as he can, as a team.”

Not only are the coaches eager about their new positions, but the student athletes are enthusiastic as well.

“The kids are excited about these coaches and ready to work hard together,” Gibson said. “The first thing we look for, with all of our coaches, is what kind of people they are, how they’re going to help our kids be better people and be great role models.”