Lady Pioneers’ basketball team gets new coach

When the Lady Pioneers’ basketball team takes the the hardwood next season, they’ll be under the leadership of a new coach, one who plans to make each of the players a part of her family.
“I’m a huge family person. I have an awesome family and close group of friends that mean the world to me,” said Rebecca Muncy, a Greene County native and Crockett’s newest coach. “And to me, a basketball team is more like a family, so I’m going to operate it that way.”
Muncy, a 2001 graduate of Chuckey-Doak High School and 2005 graduate of Tusculum College, will lead the Crockett team after spending last year as an assistant coach for the Dobyns-Bennett girls’ basketball team.
“I’m very, very passionate about basketball and teaching the fundamentals. I’m a big believer in keeping it simple out there,” Muncy said of her coaching style. “My big focus, if I have one, is probably defense. I know offense is important, but defense can really win some basketball games.”
While Muncy said she sees a “great future” for the girls’ basketball program at Crockett, she said it will be up to her players to decide how they do in the upcoming season.
“It’s their team. I want them to play a big part in what they’re going to do this season,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential to put a competitive team on the court each night.”
For a coach who says she’s “one of the most competitive people you’ll ever meet,” that’s good news.
Muncy, 27, said she will spend the summer working with the girls at camp so she can build on what has already been started in the basketball program. She also said she wants to be active in the junior varsity team as well as the programs at the high school’s five feeder schools.
“I want to get to know all of those feeder schools and their programs so we can build off of what they are doing,” Muncy said. “I want to take that 5-year-old girl who is just starting out and make her really want to be a Lady Pioneer one day.”
As for the current Lady Pioneers, Muncy said she has high expectations of each and every one of them, and not just on the basketball court.
“I expect a lot from my players in the classroom and in the community,” Muncy said. “If you’re not a leader in the classroom and in the community, then it’s hard to transition into a leader on the court.”
In addition to her new role as head coach, Muncy will be teaching a government class at Crockett.