Lausanne coaxes Locastro to coach
Will be Netherland assistant
Lausanne athletic director Troy Baker can hardly believe his good fortune.
The Lynx were already set to open their first varsity football season in the fall with a bona fide legend on the sideline in head coach Ken Netherland, the all-time winningest coach in the state of Tennessee. And now, their staff is even stronger.
Ba ker conf i r med Wednesday that former Christian Brothers head coach Kevin Locastro will be joining the Lynx staff in June. Locastro will also teach physical education at the school, starting in the fall.
“If you had told me three or four years ago that we would be going into our first varsity football season with Ken Netherland and Kevin Locastro ...,” Baker said.
“It’s not every day you get a chance to hire a coach of this caliber. We’re very fortunate to have Kevin on board. He’s enthusiastic and a man of high character and he definitely has a vision.”
The chance to work with Netherland was too great to pass up, Locastro said.
“The opportunity to work with someone like Ken Netherland is like getting to work with (legendary Tennessee prep coaches) Carlton Flatt or Tim Nix,” he said. “I wasn’t really looking to go anywhere: I was looking forward to having my day free after 3 o’clock, which is something I haven’t had a chance to do in 24 years.
“But it’s exciting to have the chance to help build a program from the ground up.”
Locastro resigned his CBHS coaching duties in January after a 9-2 season. In a career that began in 1998, Locastro led the Purple Wave to a 105-59 record, winning two Division 2-AA West Region championships and finishing state runner-up twice.
Baker said Netherland and Loscastro will determine the new coach’s specific role. But Locastro said he’s willing to do whatever is needed to make the lynx a success.
“I’ve coordinated offenses and defenses,” he said. “And I’m not an ego guy ... I’m just ready to work my tail off for coach Netherland and be the best assistant I can be.”
Baker said the job grew out of casual conversations that he and Locastro had following the coach’s departure from CBHS.
“We just hit it off famously,” he said. “I think (Lausanne) really piqued his interest. It’s a really good fit.”
IN ANOTHER DEVELOPMENT
Ridgeway star commits: Ridgeway senior guard Jonathan Burroughs-Cook announced Wednesday that he will play his college ball at the College of Charleston.
The 6-2 Cook averaged 19.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals this past season while leading the Roadrunners to a 30-3 record and the regular-season championship in District 15-AAA.