Jonathan Childs is getting a little bit closer to home.
Childs recently took over the Eupora girls basketball program after coaching the last two years at J.Z. George in North Carrollton. Childs replaces Danya Turner who left to take an administration job in Winston County.
“I was living in Starkville and working at J.Z. George and that was an hour commute one way,” Childs said. “So that was a big thing for me was to get closer to home to make it easier on my wife and I. It will cut my commute to about 27 minutes so that will be nice and I’m looking forward to it. I have lived in the area for a while and Eupora is one of those places where I can see myself being for a long time.”
Childs is a 2016 graduated of Mississippi State and coached boys at J.Z. George the last two years. Childs played high school basketball at Baldwyn High School and played on two state runners-up teams with the Bearcats.
Childs has been on the job about two weeks and has already had a few practices with the Lady Eagles.
“We have had a couple of practices and played two games at East Webster last week,” Childs said. “I have seen some good things and there are some pieces to work with to build a foundation for the future, that’s for sure. I’m working with a lot of sophomores and juniors and have heard good things about them. They just have to buy into what I’m asking them to do. I see us knocking on Jackson’s door.”
Childs said he doesn’t see a big difference in coaching girls versus boys.
“It hasn’t been too different,” Childs said. “It’s just been a few weeks. We have been running and lifting and at the end of the day, it’s still basketball. if you have kids willing to learn, it’s just basketball and that has been really encouraging to me that they are willing to get up and work out. This is the first time that some of them have lifted.”
While the Lady Eagles struggled on the court last year, Childs said he isn’t worried about wins and losses right now.
“What I have been preaching is focusing on the process and not the outcome,” Childs said. “How many games you win doesn’t really determine how your season goes. If you focus on the little things, boxing out and helping the helper, good things are going to happen. I just want to focus on getting better each and every day.”
