The first NAIA All-American at the University of Incarnate Word (formerly Incarnate Word College) in San Antonio and a 2005 Hall of Fame inductee there, the 6-7 Henderson also knows a thing or two about basketball.
That’s the message the humble, sometimes goofy first-year coach - who leads the Lady Eagles (27-9) against 18th-ranked Woodville (31-4) at 8:30 a.m. today in a University Interscholastic League Class 2A state semifinal at Frank Erwin Center - tried to send when he took over.
“The kids don’t really realize where you’re coming from when you’re new,” said Henderson, who lived in Houston for five years as a child and graduated from Kerens. “You have to tell them, ‘Decisions are made for a reason and this isn’t my first time to do this and you have to trust me.’”
From that sprouted one of his most famous phrases.
“He’s always like, ‘This ain’t my first rodeo,’” Salado senior Danielle Hazzard said. “If we say something, he’ll come back and say, ‘This ain’t my first rodeo.’”
Neither is guiding a team to the girls state tournament.
Henderson - who spent three years as a boys basketball coach at Valley Mills and five as an assistant baseball and boys basketball coach at Smithson Valley - found his groove at Port Aransas, leading the Lady Marlins to the 2007 Class A Division I state tournament, a 146-39 record and a playoff appearance in each of his five seasons.
So with all that success, why leave for Salado?
“It was time for a change professionally and for my family (wife Amy, 11-year-old daughter Alyx, 9-year-old son A.J.) as well,” Henderson said. “I was fortunate to have some great, awesome players at Port Aransas and we were able to achieve some success, so I didn’t want to take any job.
“I heard a lot of great things about Salado and I thought I might be a good fit for it. My family is really enjoying it here, so that’s been a huge plus. It’s really turned out to be a win-win for everyone.”
When he arrived, Henderson didn’t have to spend time developing talent because the foundation already was established. His biggest task aside from maximizing the Lady Eagles’ potential was to serve as the calming influence on the sideline for youthful Salado, which has a combined nine sophomores and freshmen on the roster.
The Lady Eagles survived close games in the Region IV quarterfinal and semifinal rounds before facing the ultimate adversity test against Weimar. Salado had just blown a four-point lead with less than 8 seconds to go when Henderson did his best to settle down the Lady Eagles’ panicky emotions and help them regain focus.
“I told them, ‘This is the situation we’re in. We have to keep playing,’” he said.
The Lady Eagles rallied once again to edge Weimar in a heart-stopping Region IV final and advance to state, sending Henderson to Austin for the second time in three seasons.
Only this time, the man who was hired 10 months ago and has accomplished so much as a coach before his 40th birthday viewed this first-year achievement at Salado like someone who had been to the rodeo before.
“It’s been great,” Henderson said, “but I would say I get more satisfaction out of seeing kids and how positive of an experience this is for them. I remember two years ago when we qualified, watching the kids hug their family members and hug their friends. They were laughing, smiling. That as much as anything is rewarding.”
cmeister@temple-telegram.com
