SPRING GARDEN – It was a simple yet symbolic passing of the torch following Spring Garden’s Friday afternoon announcement of Levi Hatcher as its new head boys basketball coach.
Legendary coach Ricky Austin, who was also honored with a basketball commemorating his 900th coaching win, tossed Hatcher a whistle on a lanyard. The moment officially declared the Panther boys were all his.
“I think a lot of people would feel more pressure than I’m feeling,” Hatcher said. “Something that’s helped me is being under his wing for a year. That’s been a big help as opposed to just coming in fresh and not knowing anything. I was able to see how he does things a lot and pick his brain.
“I think it’s going to be a smooth transition, as opposed to just someone coming in and not being a part of it. By the same token, you’re following a coach with 900 wins as well. There’s always going to be some level of nervousness, but it’s probably more anxiousness to get going and start meshing with the team in the new role I’m in and see where we go from there.”
Hatcher, an assistant coach with Spring Garden last season, is a 2002 graduate of Trion, Ga. While at Trion, he played basketball and ran cross country. After high school, Hatcher attended Shorter University on a basketball scholarship and played there from 2002-06.
Hatcher received his accounting degree from Shorter, but said he never thought of teaching.
“The last semester at college, I had a rec director come and say ‘Hey, why don’t you come coach a rec team.’ I said ‘That sounds good.’ So I did that. Some of the players’ moms were on the team, and they were like ‘We’ve got four ladies going on maternity leave. Why don’t you think about teaching?’ I was like ‘Sounds good, so let’s try it.’ I was at Trion teaching since 2007, and I immediately started helping the coach there.”
The connection between Hatcher and the Panther program is his wife, the former Lauren Hudson. She played basketball for Austin while attending Spring Garden. After attending a few games with her, he imagined Spring Garden was a place his family could settle down.
“Coach Rat (Austin) coached her growing up, so she knew the culture,” Hatcher said. “We’d come in and the stands would be packed. It was an awesome environment. The culture was great. That was one of the things for Lauren, going back home and getting closer to her family.
“From the beginning, I was not going to go to a school system just to work on a second retirement. I wasn’t going to go somewhere and be unhappy. It’s got to be somewhere where the culture is right, the feel is right. We said if Spring Garden ever opens up, and I’d sent emails a couple of years back, if something opens up, would you just keep an ear out? I got a call last spring. It was great. It was awesome to get that call.”
And from the get-go at Spring Garden, the Panthers have welcomed Hatcher with open arms.
“Earning their respect was No. 1 on my agenda,” Hatcher said. “I was not going to come in and be the guy who’s just here to take up space. I worked hard from the beginning to try and earn their respect, and it looks like it’s taken hold. I’m very thankful for that.
“The guys have done everything I’ve asked them all year long, whether it’s a senior or an eighth grader. They’ve been very respectful, very accepting of me, my kids (3-year-old Huntley and 6-year old Hudson) and my wife. It just feels like we’re part of the same family now.
“They’ve embraced me and brought me into this culture, and I’ve loved every minute of it so far.”
