Former Trojan coach headed for national hall

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Former Hillsboro High School girls? basketball coach Becky Carlson will be inducted into the National High School Athletic Coaches Association Hall of Fame this summer.

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Becky Carlson: ?I was pretty humbled by it.?

 

Carlson, who spent the first 21 of her 25 years in high school coaching at HHS, has been at Iola High School the past four seasons.

The induction ceremony will be June 23 during the association?s annual convention in Minnea?polis, Minn. She will be one of 41 coaches to be inducted this year.

?I was pretty humbled by it, honestly,? Carlson said of the honor.

While at Hillsboro, Carlson compiled a 333-149 record for a win percentage of just under 70. She guided 10 teams to the Class 3A state tournament and claimed back-to-back championships in 1995 and 1996. Both of those teams posted her career-best season record of 24-2.

Carlson, a southeast Kansas native and Tabor College graduate, left Hillsboro for Iola after the 2004-05 school year to be closer to family.

?When you get to a certain point in your life, your career is important, but it?s not my only thing,? she said. ?I moved (to Iola) not having a head coaching job. I was willing to take that job at that point in my life because I wanted to get closer to my family.

?Then it just worked out that I got to coach basketball.?

In her first season at Iola High, Carlson won her third state title?and the school?s first. Her teams have compiled a 58-32 record though four seasons.

Carlson was selected as the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association high school girls? coach of the year in 1996 and 2006. Earlier this school year she was nominated for the KBCA Hall of Fame.

Carlson said induction into the NHSACA Hall of Fame is automatic after a coach is nominated for the state hall of fame. She said her KBCA nomination is still under consideration.

Carlson said she looks back fondly on her years in Hillsboro, where she taught physical education in the elemntary school.

?I loved Hillsboro,? she said. ?It was a great place for me.?

She said her time at Hillsboro is largely responsible for her hall-of-fame recognition.

?When I heard about it, my first thought was it?s neat for me to be in Iola area,? she said. ?But probably most of the reason I was picked for the hall of fame was because of the years of coaching the athletes I did at Hillsboro.

?I?ve had some great athletes,? she added. ?The wins have definitely come because of the athletes I?ve coached.?

Carlson said she measures her personal success by more than her win-loss record and tournament trophies.

?I have passion for the sports that I coach, but more for working with kids,? she said. ?I think most kids I?ve coached will tell you that I believe in them. I think that?s a big reason for success.?

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