It’s not an easy thing to do to replace a coach that’s been on the sidelines at various levels and for both the boys’ and girls’ programs for 41 years. That, for those following Bridgeport High School, was the dilemma facing Bridgeport High School recently.

 

Back in March, Dennis Hutson’s long basketball journey ended with a final stop for the Indians. The duty of finding a replacement fell into the hands of Bridgeport High School Athletic Director and Assistant Principal Mark Jones along with Principal Matt DeMotto.

 

While they didn’t find someone with four-plus decades of coaching experience, they came about as close as can be expected. And they didn’t have to go too far to find a new coach – this one with a quarter century of coaching under their belt.

 

Jones confirmed that Herman Pierson, who served as Hutson’s assistant for the past two seasons, was chosen by the pair to be the new coach. The Harrison County Board of Education approved the recommendation and Pierson’s first official coaching began Monday with the three-week coaching period for athletes during the summer months.

 

Pierson was one of roughly a half a dozen candidates that applied and interviewed for the job. Jones said there were many things that stood out that led to the recommendation for Pierson to move from assistant to head coach.

 

“The big thing is that his passion for coaching stood out. He enjoys the kids and enjoys the game of basketball,” said Jones. “He also understands the Bridgeport dynamic from his assistant role. He has the very important understanding of the relationship between the players on this team and the coach and the relationship between the program and the community.”

 

For those who simply see Pierson as an assistant being bumped up, they may be selling his basketball pedigree shot. Pierson has a pretty lengthy background that officially began in 1995. However, most that know of Pierson’s pre-Bridgeport days will point to his time at Trinity Christian.

 

Most of his time was spent coaching Trinity Christian from 1997 to 2013. Pierson and his wife actually helped start the school that began in ’97 with just grades seven through nine before adding a grade each year and becoming a high school. Eventually, Pierson coached the boys’ teams and had plenty of success.

 

His overall record at Trinity comes in at 318-86. That includes nine conference championships (between the Mason Dixon and the OVAC), eight sectional titles and five regional titles. Following one of those regional wins, his club made it to the Class A championship game.

 

“We were the state runner-up in 2011,” said Pierson, who also helped coach the girls at Trinity when they occasionally had trouble finding an assistant coach. “We actually had the last possession and got off the last shot with a chance to win it, but the shot needed to be an inch higher.”

 

His first two years were actually coaching a team at the now defunct Alliance Christian School that was absorbed into Trinity. And the coaching career almost never came about.

 

“My son went there, and they needed two teams because they had so many kids out. They needed a coach and called me four times before I decided that I would do it,” he said. “I’ve been coaching in some capacity ever since.”

 

The only break came after leaving Trinity in 2013 and prior to starting with Hutson. However, he did coach travel AAU squads to fill the gap until he coached alongside Hutson and with the BHS junior varsity program. The girls finished 16-3 and 12-4 during the past two seasons on the jayvee side of the roster.

 

Whether he finds the same success remains to be seen. The Tribe lost several key players due to graduation – Emily Riggs, Rory Marple and Lauren Riffle among others – and took a lot of offensive and defensive production with them.

 

“We’re going to have find points,” said Pierson. “Those kids averaged more than 24 minutes a game and combined for probably in the range of 40 points and it’s more when you figure in all five seniors that graduated and those kids that you may not have heard as much about but did key things as well.”

 

Pierson, who is used to challenges, isn’t fretting about having to fill plenty of spots on the floor.

 

“I truly don’t look at it as a detriment and am looking forward to this. The kids know me, and they’ll see soon we’re going to retain some things we ran before on offense and defensive put some new pieces in,” said Pierson.

 

Pierson will also be joined by another new coach. Scotti Chumley from Doddridge County, who Pierson said coached in the neighboring county, is a current Bridgeport resident looking to make his mark.

 

“We’re both excited. I can’t wait to get started and I’m still ready to be involved. Heck, I still go to coaching clinics, steal ideas that I like and take in as much basketball as possible,” said Pierson. “As long as I keep enjoying it I’ll keep coaching.”

 

Editor's Note: Top two photos show Herman Pierson earlier this week working with his BHS girls team during the start of the June three-week practice period. In the third photo, Pierson is shown with former Coach Dennis Hutson at this year's state tournament and below he's shown with Lincoln Coach Rob Hawkins following the Tribe's sectional loss to the Cougars. All photos by www.benqueenphotography.com.