As May begins and temperatures are starting to reach the nineties again, almost all of Anderson’s teams have entered their offseasons. Save for girls’ lacrosse, not a single other sport has any games left to play, but if you think that means it’s all quiet on the athletic front, you’re sorely mistaken. Seniors aren’t the only people departing Anderson, the coaching carousel is making a stop at our high school this year.
Last year, Coach Hatcher was brought in to be the athletic director and head football coach, but otherwise, it was business as usual for the Anderson teams. This year though, coaches from all around the school are departing, and replacements have been hired not only from within the programs but other places as well.
Basketball Coach Daniel Pittsford is leaving and headed just a few exits down Mopac to Hyde Park where he will continue to teach and coach basketball. He’s been the Trojans head coach since 2014 and has been at Anderson since 2009. He’s led the Trojans to lots of success on the court with several playoff appearances in his nine years at the helm. He’s not only a great basketball coach, but he also excels in the same way many legendary coaches do. He doesn’t just make his team better basketball players, he makes them better people as well. He’s leaving to spend more time with his family — he has a daughter at Hyde Park and a young son — and he will surely be missed at Anderson. You can read Sebastian Cruz’s full exit interview with Coach Pitt here.
Coach Pitt is being replaced by Coach Eric Swanson, the long-time assistant and the former interim athletic director at Anderson. He was originally hired by Coach Pitt after moving from his hometown of Watertown, South Dakota. He was an easy pick to replace Pitt, as he has dedicated himself to the program for many years and is more than deserving of the job. He has just recently taken over the program and will have a full offseason to prepare before his first game as head coach at Anderson. Check our homepage to read the article highlighting Coach Swanson.
Coach Richard Sanford is retiring after decades at Anderson where he mainly coached the Trojans track and cross country teams, although he also had a brief stint with basketball according to MaxPreps. He leaves huge shoes to fill on the track and the trails and will be replaced by more than one coach next season. Coach Jose Chavez, who also coaches JV basketball has been promoted to the spot of head cross country coach, and Coach Jeff Callis has been promoted to head men’s track coach. A women’s track coach has yet to be named. Reporter Sebastian Cruz will be interviewing Coach Sanford in the upcoming weeks.
Coach Hall has departed from her role as girls’ basketball coach and has been succeeded by Latanya Counter. Coach Counter hails from the Dallas area where she played throughout high school and has coached at both the middle school and high school levels. She has already become meeting the players via Zoom and will be in Austin this weekend. I’ll have a full interview with her in the next few weeks, so stay tuned!
As you can see, several big coaching changes are taking place at Anderson this offseason. Some coaches will maintain the systems put in place by their predecessors, and some won’t. Anderson has chosen some solid replacements for some pretty great coaches. It’ll be difficult to live up to the standard these departing coaches have set, but you should have complete confidence in Coaches Swanson, Chavez, Callis, and Counter. They’ll be working hard to prepare their teams for the upcoming seasons throughout the summer and next fall.
Also, a quick reminder to please keep donating to the scholarship fund. We are almost halfway to our goal, but we still need your help to reach it! Check out the gofundme and apply today!
Great write up! Thanks for all the updates. This parent of Anderson sports alums appreciates it!