California Lady Pintos basketball will have a new head coach this fall.
California High School introduced Kevin Carr as its new head coach on May 10 after the resignation of former head coach Bobby Sangster.
Carr grew up in Washington, Missouri, and graduated from St. Francis Borgia High School. Carr is married to Tana Carr, and has two adult children who live in the Washington area.
He received his bachelor's degree in information systems from Maryville University in St. Louis and later his master's degree in education from Missouri Baptist University, with a focus on teaching business courses. Carr will be California High School's new marketing teacher and DECA sponsor in August.
"I've spent 20 years working in the corporate world and I bring this experience into the classroom. My philosophy is a student-centered approach to teaching, where students are actively engaged in the learning process and encouraged to think critically and creatively," Carr said in a statement on California Pintos Athletics' Twitter page. "I believe in a variety of teaching methods and instructional strategies to meet the diverse need of students."
Carr started playing basketball when he entered the fourth grade and continued to play throughout his high school career. When his children starting playing basketball in their middle school years, Carr decided to start coaching boys and girls teams.
Prior to coming to California, Carr served as the head coach of Clinton High School boys basketball, Meadville High School girls basketball and Smith-Cotton High School girls basketball.
During his introductory meeting with the Lady Pintos on May 10, Carr explained his basketball philosophy with the team and how critical the summer was going to be. Carr plans to have the Lady Pintos do plenty of running on the court by using the full-court pressure defense as their go-to defensive style.
"This summer will be dedicated to installing my offensive and defensive philosophies. It will also be a time that I will get to know the Lady Pintos better and get a better understanding of the team that I have going into the season," Carr said. "My offensive philosophy is that we will push the ball up the court, spacing will be key to our offense. My defensive philosophy will be a mix of pressing and primarily man to man defense."
Carr wants to emphasize teamwork, discipline and a strong work ethic into the Lady Pintos to help them achieve their goals, while also emphasizing the importance of sportsmanship and character development to each other and their opponents on and off the court.
"My short term goals are that this summer we get our offense and defensive systems installed. My long term goals are to continue to build on the tradition of Lady Pintos basketball and compete for conference, district and state titles," Carr said. "I appreciate the warm welcome and support that I have received in the short time that I have been in California. I am excited to begin this journey as a teacher and coach in the California school district."
Carr will coach his first game with California this November.