The head boys basketball coaching position at Lewisville is a new job for Lamont Elder, but it is also a homecoming.
Last week, Elder was introduced as the new head man at Lewisville, succeeding Mike McCray, who left to take the same job at Northwestern. Elder is very familiar with Lewisville, though, having been an assistant football and JV basketball head coach previously at the school and the head track coach. His first tenure went from 1994 until 2002 and all the programs he was associated with enjoyed a great deal of success. The football team (with Bennie McMurray as head coach) won two state titles, the basketball team was consistently competitive and the boys and girls track teams had state qualifiers in the 4x100 and 4x400 every year. The success continued when he moved to Lancaster High School as an assistant football and head track coach, with the Bruins making several playoff runs on the gridiron and the girls 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams qualified for state each year.
One of the constants, at both schools, in the early portion of his coaching career was McMurray, for whom he coached running backs, offensive linemen and defensive backs at various points during his career. He said he learned a lot from McMurray, both about coaching and how to build relationships.
“It was about character and discipline,” he said. “If you are up front in how you deal with people, they play a lot harder for you. I still communicate with him and ask him (him) for advice. He taught me so much about life.”
With that influence serving as a foundation, Elder said he uses basketball to teach life lessons and help guide his players towards being productive citizens.
Elder’s most recent boys basketball head coaching job was at A.R. Rucker Middle School. During his time with that program, the team went 165-21 and won 11 conference titles with six of those teams going undefeated.
Elder favors an up-tempo style of play and thinks players and fans will enjoy the product that is put on the hard court with the Lions. Last year, Lewisville sported a very young roster and one that featured very little in the way of size. Elder said he hopes to have a bit bigger roster, but if that doesn’t happen he said he will put his five best players on the floor and the team will still compete hard. He has met with most returning players and said they have been very receptive to his ideas and philosophies.
Elder has often been involved in more than one sport and that will be the case at Lewisville as well. On top of his basketball coaching duties, he will be part of the staff of Leon Boulware, Lewisville’s new head football coach.
Elder has been married to his wife, DeShun Williams-Elder, for 18 years. He has an Associate Degree in Applied Science Early Care and Education and holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies with a concentration in Psychology and Communication.