For the fifth time in as many years, the Tennessee Temple Academy girls’ basketball team will begin the season with a new head coach.

Mark Alexander, an assistant coach for the Temple boys last season, is replacing Shameca Gardner, who has accepted an assistant coaching position at Tennessee Temple University.

“Ideally, you’d want to have the same coach for an extended period of time, but this group of girls is very resilient,” Alexander said. “I taught and coached at Temple last year, and I had some of them in class. I got to know them, and they know me, so I think that’s going to help a lot.”

The position is Alexander’s first as a head coach and his first time coaching girls. He helped coached basketball and football at Silverdale Baptist Academy before coming to Temple, where he helped lead the Crusaders to a region championship and state-tournament berth.

“We had the spot open, and it was kind of a no-brainer to put Mark in the position,” said Caleb Marcum, the Crusaders’ athletic director and boys’ basketball coach. “He brings a wealth of experience. He has a great demeanor and floor presence, and is just an all-around good guy, so we’re excited about it, and the girls are excited about it.”

Alexander again will assist Marcum with the boys’ team, and Marcum will serve this year as Alexander’s assistant.

The athletic director said he was aware of rumors circulating this summer that the school would not open or would be dropping its sports programs because of a decline in enrollment and resulting financial concerns, but he said Temple will field the same number of athletic teams as last year.

“Being at Temple, every summer there are rumors,” Marcum said. “We’ve lost some kids, but we’ve had several new kids enroll. We’re up to about two-thirds of (the enrollment) we had last year.

“Rumors fly and people talk, but overall there’s a lot of excitement around the place. We think that the sky’s the limit for the future at Temple.”

Alexander and the Lady Crusaders have reason to be excited about their future after the progress they showed at the end of last season, which included a runner-up finish in the District 5-A tournament.

“We have a lot of seniors, so it’s a very mature group,” Alexander said. “Hopefully we can make it a smooth transition for them. My goal is to help them have an enjoyable senior year.”

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