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Osburn officially takes reins for Lady Bronchos basketball

Posted: Apr 16th 2021 By: Andy Morphew - DuncanBanner.com

Central High will have a new coach for the Lady Bronchos basketball team as Coach Lance Osburn takes over for Chad Weldon, who will stay at the school as Athletic Director and coach of softball.

Weldon said at the end of last season they were going to look for a new coach to take over and after several interviews, the district found Osburn with Central High Board of Education approving his hire on April 12.

Osburn comes from Friend Public Schools, a K-8 school in Chickasha where he was the head coach. This will be his first varsity coaching position at Central High.

After speaking with Weldon and Superintendent Kevin Dyes, Osborn quickly realized this position would be a great fit. He said he’s excited to join Central High.

“I am kind of new to this area and have only been here about three years now but everyone has said Central High is such a good school and good area,” Osburn said. “It feels like the right place for me. It was super important to find something close to home and not have to start over.”

As his first varsity coaching experience, Osburn said it is great to have Weldon around as Athletic Director. Osburn said he has the blessing of Weldon to make it his program.

“We have talked quite a bit when I first went to interview and he made it very clear coming in he was going to do softball and I would be basketball and it would be mine from the get go,” Osburn said. “It is great to still have him around to bounce off ideas off him because he already knows the kids. He has done a great job with them over the last years and I’m excited about getting down there and putting my stamp on things and see where we can go with it.”

Coming from a small school atmosphere, Osburn coached AAU in college and served as a volunteer assistant at his old high school before working with Bacone College for a few years.

After touring the facilities during the interview, Osburn said he is excited to be a part of the small school atmosphere and will draw from those three coaching experiences going forward.

“I grew up in a small school area and even the colleges I went to were small schools area,” Osburn said. “Having that small community was important and it feels more like family than another school. I was talking to Coach Weldon and we will wait until they are done with softball districts before I get to meet the girls. I want to make those first introductions and then head to summer camps that we will have and try to set up some team bonding to build those relationships and build that culture down there.”

Osburn’s goal for the Lady Bronchos is to start small and aim for one goal before heading on to achieve future goals later down the road.

“I am a firm believer you have to set small goals to achieve your big goals,” Osburn said. “First goal is to come in and have a winning season and look to aim for districts. From there you aim for Regionals, Area and then State and take it one step at a time. What I plan on bringing over to Central High is take it step by step and build the program while achieving the little goals to get to the big ones.”