Lamont Calloway has been promoted from assistant coach
to girls’ varsity basketball head coach at CHS.
By Marty Gordon
Lamont Calloway has been named the new girls’ basketball coach at Christiansburg High School. Athletic officials announced the appointment on Monday.
Calloway has been involved in coaching for more than 20 years. He has been an assistant at Christiansburg for the past three years and served as the jayvee coach last season.
He said he applied for the varsity job because coaching is his passion
“After spending 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, I knew I wanted to be a role model and mentor for the kids in my program. I want to win ball games, but I also want to develop the kids both in character and skill,” Calloway said.
Calloway is a 1993 graduate of Radford High School. He said his goal as the Blue Demon head coach is to bring back to the program the thrill of winning.
“I want the community and the surrounding area to come and support the girls during the season,” he said. “I also want the team to have fun, work hard, develop good habits and give back. If we can achieve these goals, we will be well on our way to a successful season.”
Having been involved in the program in the past, Calloway knows he has only a small number of players returning. Last season, the varsity squad had only six girls on the team with most of them young and inexperienced.
For the 2020-21 season, the Blue Demons will return starting point guard Hannah Altizer, Junior Antwanniqua Banks will also provide some leadership. Senior Molly Close will also return after suffering a season-ending injury last season.
“We have some recruiting to do to surround these girls with more players. We have a good foundation going forward,” the new head coach said. “We just need to keep building on it. I am confident that when it comes time for the season, we will have enough talent to compete in the district and Region 3.”
This is the second time in three years Christiansburg High School has hired a new girls’ basketball coach. The opening comes just a year after the school hired Christene Cox after a three-month search. She stepped down after one season in which the Blue Demons finished at the bottom of the River Ridge District. In 2018-2019, the team finished 20-5 and had won 38 games over a two-year period.
The program has had four coaches in the past six years and advanced to the state regional playoffs in 2017 and 2018.
