By LARRY GAGE
Special to the PRESS
Kyle DeMoss is doing double duty as a Port Isabel High athletic coach these days. In August, he began his second season as an assistant football coach on Head Coach and Athletic Director Jason Strunk’s staff.
Now, and by now I mean just within the last three weeks, the former Tarpon football and basketball player finds himself filling the unexpectedly vacant post of head girls basketball coach. The Press found DeMoss in the main gym after an early A.M. practice this week, and he shared his thoughts on how he’s handling the coaching duties of two sports.
“Strunk approached me and just said there was a situation, and he said you’re the best choice for it. He said he thought I’d be a great coach and I took his word for it.”
It’s his first shot at coaching girls’ high school hoops, but his background in coaching and training did not leave him unprepared for the job.
“When I was in Vegas, I trained professional girls, college girls, and high school girl athletes as well. They always listen, they do what’s expected of them, and it’s enjoyable.”
Currently, DeMoss and his student athletes are at the gym, ready to go by 6:00 a.m. Football practice begins after the end of classes in the afternoon. The latter sport will occupy DeMoss at least through next week, at the end of which the Tarpons will play their bi-district playoff game–opponent and site to be determined.
It can be hard enough to keep the scheduling for one sport straight and manageable, and DeMoss is now juggling all of that for two sports, and, so far, is getting it done nicely. My interview with him Tuesday morning had to be cut short, as he was due at Derry Elementary for P.E. class.
As this is written, he was coaching the Lady Tarpons in preparing their first scrimmage of the season at Pace High in Brownsville. On Tuesday, they played scrimmages against Pace, Hannah, and Porter. The first game of the new season is on for this Friday, November 8, when IDEA Quest of Donna will come calling at Tarpon Gym. Tip-off times are 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
“We haven’t even put in an offense yet. Just the basics: pass and cut, pass, screen,” DeMoss said. “I just want to see how the girls compete against someone other than themselves, and how they play together.”
In the meantime there’s a football playoff game to get ready for.
“We’re going to play either Sinton or Orange Grove,” DeMoss said. “We’ve got film on both of them, so we’re already doing our pre-scouting. The coaches are going up this week to do some scouting. We’re ready for both opponents and we’re looking forward to either one we have to play.”
Former Port Isabel boys hoops coach Al Senteno was also an assistant football coach, and the deeper the football Tarpons went into that season’s playoffs, the longer it would be before he could start coaching the P.I. basketball team full-time. We agreed that it was a nice problem to have. Now, DeMoss is working a variation of that scenario and, starting next week, it’s a weekto-week situation. Stay tuned for the latest developments
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