Painful knee replacement surgery has sent Woodlawn boys basketball coach Kenny Wayne Goldman to the sidelines for the foreseeable future and resulted in a change in the head coaching position at one of the most storied programs in Northwest Louisiana.
Homer coach Lafrance Cooper will take over running the Knights on May 29.
“When a school with so much rich tradition and pride like Woodlawn calls, you answer,” Cooper said. “I always preach to my kids that you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable in order to grow. Once you become comfortable, then the growth stops. Ultimately, I had to be able to look in the mirror and practice what I’ve preached. By far the hardest decision of my life, Homer is what made me.”
A former Shreveport Times All-Area performer (2004) when he averaged 30.3 points at Homer, Cooper was a LSWA Class 2A All-State player before earning accolades at Southern University-Shreveport and East Texas Baptist. He holds an undergraduate degree from ETBU, a masters in Sports Administration from Grambling and his Ed.S Educational Leadership degree from Arkansas State.
He comes to Woodlawn with a plan.
“We just plan on building boys into young men daily, teaching life lessons through the game of basketball,” Cooper said. “Everyone being held accountable for their growth. There is no room for complacency here at Woodlawn. As long as we instill accountability, discipline and competing daily, we’ll live with the results.”
Goldman, a past Shreveport Times Coach of the Year, leaves as one of the most successful boys basketball coaches in the region during his career. In a seven-year career at Woodlawn, he is 144-69 with two district championships, three Coach of the Year honors and two LHSAA semifinal runs. That came after not being a head coach since 2005 at North Caddo.
While Cooper is the head coach, Goldman may not be gone from the sidelines for good.
“Don’t sleep on me not doing it again,” he said.
Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.
This article originally appeared on Shreveport Times: Woodlawn gets new coach after surgery forces Goldman to step down