Reed named girls hoops coach at Sherando

By Jeremy Stafford -- jstafford@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- The move had everything to do with family and community.
So while it pained him to leave the girls he coached and the community he spurred at Loudoun County, former Raiders coach Kevin Reed will coach Sherando's girls basketball team this winter.

The move will keep him closer to his wife, his two daughters and the Stephens City area.
Reed is intimately familiar with many in the Sherando community: He lives in Stephens City, is an avid supporter of the Warriors football and soccer teams, he even helps former girls soccer standout Nikki Rhodes prepare for her college studies over the summer.

Indeed, Reed admitted only one school, one community, could ever take him away from what he had at Loudoun County: Sherando.

"My ties to this community mean a lot to me," said Reed, who has about an hour commute to Francis Hazel Reid Elementary School in Leesburg, where he teaches the fourth grade before spending his winter afternoons at Loudoun County. "I've taken lot of time from my kids and my wife in eight years."

But Reed isn't the only Stephens City resident with a reason to smile -- since taking over at Loudoun County, Reed's eight-year tenure has comprised 156 wins, only 50 losses, two Region II championships (2006, 2009), and a Group AA state championship (2009). Lamenting two consecutive seasons marred by single-digit wins and double-digit losses, the Sherando Warriors girls basketball team is assuredly happy to have Reed's experience and resume.

But Reed rightfully isn't assuming Sherando's recent woes will turn immediately into spectacular wins. He inherits a Sherando team that has graduated a wealth of experience in Taylor Henshaw (5.5 ppg) and Brooklyn Wilson (9.8 ppg), but retains rising junior Morgan Sirbaugh, whose 14.6 points per game ranked fifth in the area.

Reed hasn't yet met with the Warriors, but said he will do so as soon as possible. Today is his last day of work before summer vacation, and he will meet with Sherando athletic director Jason Barbe on Thursday.

Meeting with the girls, of course, will mark the beginning of what Reed hopes to be the building of not only a strong basketball program at Sherando, but of a strong community around the program as well.

"One thing I hope to build at Sherando is a sincere family atmosphere," Reed said. "I have such a fond memory of the girls and the community at Loudoun County, and that's what I want to bring to Sherando."