Coaches Brian Doss and Cameron Armstrong have been a part of the Lefors Pirates family for quite some time. Throughout their history of coaching student-athletes, Doss and Swires have gone above and beyond to support the players.
Doss is the Head Girl’s Coach and Assistant Football Coach. He started his coaching career at Lefors and has been coaching for 2 years.
“I had coached AAU for a long time however, this is my first official coaching job,” Doss said.
Doss spoke highly of his experience coaching so far.
“I love it! It doesn’t even feel like work,” Doss said. “I get to do what I love. I can start being a mentor to these kids.”
Doss described the atmosphere during his first year coaching the students.
“When I came in last year, there was a lot of negativity,” Doss said. “The kids had been told that they were incapable of doing things.”
Since then, each of the coaches has been hard at work repairing the confidence of their student-athletes.
“We have worked together as a coaching staff to change their mindset,” Doss said. “We’ve told these kids that they can be successful and can achieve greatness.”
Doss explains the great strides the girls’ basketball team made in 2021.
“Before, we had not won more than 3 games in the past 6 years,” Doss said. “Last year, we finished a little over 500 so it was a huge step. We also won a tournament.”
With guidance from Coach Armstrong and Coach Tjaeden Swires, the feelings of confidence have also transferred over to the boys’ teams.
“We’re implementing positive things that these girls and boys can relate to,” Doss said. “ We’re looking forward to establishing this for Lefors’ athletics in general.”
As far as building the confidence for the boys’ athletics, most specifically the football team, Doss has high hopes.
“They’re looking forward to their next game,” Doss said. “We’re working to rebuild that confidence and are well on our way to doing so.”
Regarding the girls’ basketball team, Doss and the team are enthusiastic.
“We are excited about our first game,” Doss said. “We scrimmage Groom on the 1st. We kick off our season on November 4th against San Jacinto Academy in Lefors.”
Doss explains the challenge that awaits the girls’ basketball team.
“San Jacinto is a higher classification. We’re looking forward to that. It will be an opportunity to set the tone for the season,” Doss said.
In addition to the new season, the girls’ basketball team made Lefors history last year.
“Lefors hasn’t experienced a girls’ basketball district championship since the 80s,” Doss said. “They hadn’t won a tournament in a long time. We accomplished that and are coming back as the defending champions this year.”
Doss looks forward to the accomplishments the girls’ team will make this upcoming season.
“These girls are focused on what they want to accomplish,” Doss said. “Their hard work is paying off.”
Regarding the Lefors Pirates most recent game against the Follett Panthers, where they lost 0 - 54, Coach Armstrong had constructive comments after the match.
“We played hard. I’m proud of the way we finished. We’ve got work to do,” Armstrong said.
With coaches like these, the student-athletes of Lefors have the overpouring support of their instructors and community behind them.
