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For the first time in nearly three decades, Morristown West girls’ basketball has a new head coach.

Jaclynn Larance was named head coach of the Lady Trojans on Thursday morning, taking over for longtime coach Johnny Galyon.

Larance served as an assistant under Galyon for the past two seasons. While she knows she has big shoes to fill, she said she’s ready for the opportunity.

“I’m very blessed and grateful for this opportunity to be the new head coach here,” Larance said. “Galyon has had 29 years of a lot of success and over 600 wins, and that’s definitely a goal of mine, and big shoes to fill. And I’ve learned a lot from coaching with him over the last two years, with his knowledge in the game of basketball. So, I’m very excited about the opportunity in order to carry on the program’s success.”

Larance, a Texas native, had long been drawn to the Tennessee outdoors and made the move two years ago. She quickly found a home in the Morristown community and on Galyon’s staff.

“I loved it (in Texas), but I’m an outdoor type of person. I love the mountains,” Larance said. “I grew up going to the mountains when I was younger. So, the mountains feel like home, and so being able to move here has been a great opportunity, and it’s been amazing. The people here are so wonderful, so nice and so supportive. And just, you know, the game of basketball is in Tennessee. You know, we have Tennessee with Pat Summitt, so just all of that opportunity around me to better my coaching game as well. So, it’s just been a huge blessing moving here, and I absolutely love it.”

Larance has since continued to build relationships within the school, leading to her promotion once Galyon stepped down.

“We are excited to announce Jaclynn Larance as the new head girls’ basketball coach at Morristown West,” West Athletic Director Calvin Decker said. “She brings a passion for the game, a commitment to student-athlete development and the leadership qualities that align with our vision for the program. We believe she will have a tremendous impact on and off the court.”

“Over the last few years, I’ve really got to build great relationships with not only the athletes that I’m coaching now, but with my students and with the staff here,” Larance said. “We have a wonderful set of administration that’s been super supportive, and I love everything about what we do here. It feels very comfortable, and it feels like home to be here, and I’m grateful to be able to be a head coach here and carry on the program’s success.”

For Larance, it’s not a complete rebuild. It’s continuing to build on the foundation that Galyon has built.

Though program success is a top goal of hers, Larance wants to make a lasting impact on and off the court for every player that she coaches.

“My program mission and my goal for every athlete that I coach is just to prepare them for real life through the game of basketball,” Larance said. “Teaching them things like discipline, punctuality, character, leadership and accountability — those are part of an ownership of themselves, teaching them how to be good teammates, teaching them selflessness. Because we’re in a generation where a lot of it is more individualized.

“So, my approach is definitely team-oriented and being selfless and giving and serving others. And so, my plan is also to include the community in our program and serving them as well, because they do so much for the girls and the support that they have, and coming to the games and supporting everything that we do. That will lead to the winning and the success of continuing what Coach Galyon has already laid an amazing foundation for.”

Larance takes over a program that graduated six seniors, so there will still be some building to do in year one.

“We’re going to be young this year. We graduated is six good seniors, and so we’ll have to kind of start, not really from the beginning, but build up from there,” Larance said. “They were a huge part of this program. So well start with our core values, including our community in it. I’m a very defensive-minded coach, so I am really big on communication, doing the little things right, and the details of the game and playing really hard. I’m all about work ethic and what they put into practice and preparing them for the games. So, we have building to do, but I think with what we have coming up and who we already have in the program, I think that we will be successful this year. “We’ll have some struggles, just like every basketball team, but I’m confident in their abilities and where this program can be.”

Larance wants to build a program that the community will continue to be proud of.

“Our team motto is play tough, play smart, play together,” Larance said. “That’s my goal for them is to work through all the adversity together, and as long as we’re playing hard and being good teammates, a lot of those things will take care of themselves. I’m really blessed for this opportunity.

“I know that I’m new to the community and new to a lot of people. So, I want to make the community and the school proud. I’m very passionate about what I do. I give everything into my job and teaching and coaching the game of basketball, and I want to be able to give the same support that the community, the administration and the school has given me. I want to give it back to them and make them proud and continue on the tradition, packing the house every night and bleed crimson and white. I’m ready to get started on building this program and see what the future holds.”