When the Cascade High School boys basketball position came open earlier this spring, the administration focused on finding the right fit for the program.

That search led to Chris Lawson, who was recently announced as the program’s new head coach.

“Coach Lawson comes to us with a wealth of basketball knowledge and experience as a player and as a coach. He is passionate about building up young people’s lives and the game of basketball. We look forward to having him as part of the Cascade community,” Cascade principal Josh Young said.

Lawson is no newcomer to the sport. The son of a coach, Lawson has been on the hardwood as long as he can remember.

“My dad was a high school coach who put in 30 years. From a young age, I was in the gym all the time and always had a ball in my hand. I ended up being a decent high school player and had an opportunity to play in college,” he said.

After high school, Lawson went on to play his college ball at Martin Methodist.

Following his playing days, Lawson immediately found himself back on the floor, but as an assistant coach at the high school level.

“When I got out of college, I got a job at Columbia Central as an assistant and immediately had an opportunity to get right back into it. It wasn’t my original plan, but it kind of fell into place,” he said.

Following his stint at Columbia Central, Lawson went on to coach in Alabama.

“I coached there for five or six years and then went to Hazel Green High School. I was there for a year and then left and went to Madison County High School and I was there for seven years,” he said.

Throughout the stops so far in his career, Lawson has seen both the highs and the lows at the high school level, including a couple of trips to the state basketball tournament.

“Through those stops, I’ve sat on some really good benches. I’ve been to the state tournament in Tennessee and in Alabama. At the same time, I’ve been through some really rough years, too. I’ve always been thankful to have both experiences because there are going to be years when you’re down and you have to know how to handle some adversity,” he said.

Throughout the hiring process, Lawson says the administration and community at Cascade have been nothing but welcoming.

“I wanted to especially thank Dr. (Josh) Young, Mr. (Charlie) Pope and Mr. (Dale) Rucker,” he said.

The path back to Tennessee after his run in Alabama gives Lawson an opportunity to return close to his roots, but take the lead in a traditionally competitive program.

“They gave me a chance to 1. get back into Tennessee and be a little bit closer to my folks and 2. take a head coaching job at a really competitive place in Cascade. I think the community will be behind the program,” he said.

When it comes to the X’s and O’s of the game, it’s a bit of a wait and see game to see what the returning talent looks like on the floor and how it will mesh with Lawson’s coaching philosophy.

“Offensively, once you see what kind of players you have and what kind of size you have, once I see that and get a feel for what we have, we’ll decide offensively what we want to do,” he said.

“We’re definitely going to have some stuff that has continuity to it, but you have to play to your strengths.”

As far as defense is concerned, Lawson likes to have several different schemes he can turn to. But the basis for implementing those comes with building a rapport with the team.

“On the defensive side of things, I like to play a variety of defenses. I like to put in two or three or four different presses. I’m a man-to-man guy, through and through,” he said.

“I like to kind of keep our guys engaged, but once we get that system implemented, they’ll be able to read me and understand what we’re going to next. Definitely a variety between man, zone, and press.”

Even in normal times, a new coach taking over a program has its challenges.

In addition to those normal issues to tackle, Lawson also has to navigate the uncertainty of the impact of COVID-19.

Because of the ongoing pandemic, he’s not had a chance to meet his team yet. But that time is coming soon.

“I’ve not met anybody yet. We’re getting close and I’m really excited to get them in here and meet them. That’s coming soon, but I don’t have an exact date or time yet,” he said.

In part of building that relationship with his team, Lawson says it starts with creating a family environment between himself and the players.

“We’ve got to form a family. We have to get everything back to a family atmosphere. They’ve got to trust me and trust that I’m going to be here. We’re going to set some goals and we’re going to work as hard as we can to achieve those goals as a team,” he said.

In addition to the usual challenges of a coach taking over a program, Lawson will be the team’s third coach in three years—a challenge within itself.

“They’ve had a change in coaching staff three times and I know that can be tough on high school kids. That might take a little bit of time, but then again, it might not. The good thing for them is they’ve pretty much always been together. It won’t take as much for them to lean on each other. I’ve got to bridge that gap coming in being the new coach.”

For now, it’s a hurry up and wait game until more restrictions are relaxed and the team is allowed to resume workouts and team activities.

“Typically, the time after dead period until school starts would be an open gym and free play time. But with the way things are going now, with me being new and with this virus, we’ll try to get some work in until that dead period hits and then regroup and maybe have some set times to get some work in leading up until the start of school,” Lawson said.