The game of basketball is not new to Kenesha Saygo. She has been a star athlete in both high school and college on the court, but for the first time, she will lead a team bench. A few weeks ago, Onalaska athletic director Nick Tyerman chose her as head coach of Lady Wildcat hoops.
Originally from Killeen Texas, Saygo attended Ellison High School, where she was a district MVP in her senior season. She then was recruited to Texas Women’s College in Denton, shining as the leading scorer in her final three seasons. She was the Lone Star Conference’s freshman of the year, allconference second team as a sophomore, and first team as a junior and senior.
“I played college ball there for all four years,” she said. “I did have a pretty successful college career.”
Over the past four years, she returned to Ellison as an assistant coach. She had the opportunity to help out her head coach from high school, Sherry McKinnon, who was still leading the Lady Eagles.
“We were second place last year and we actually went undefeated in the second round of district play,” Saygo said. “We ended up beating one of the top teams in the state, which was Chaparral. We did really well. We won our first playoff game in many years and got knocked out in the second round, but we made it tough. We played the No. 11 team in the state at the time, Hendrickson, and ended up losing. We were down one in the fourth quarter, but ended up losing by 13.”
This will be Saygo’s first chance as head coach. She said the biggest factor in choosing Onalaska was its family feel.
“I liked that it is a small town and they welcomed me. Coach Tyerman and the principal and all of the staff were smiling and welcoming. Even when I was touring the campus, they made me feel like this is where I belong. Coming from Killeen, it’s a big city and a military town, so coming from a 5A and 6A district where you have five to six high schools, almost 12 middle schools, and six elementary schools, it becomes a lot. What drew me was just the family vibe from a small town, and I like that feeling.”
The coach admits she did not know much about the area before accepting the job, other than its proximity to Lake Livingston.
“I just knew it was surrounded by a body of water. It’s a pretty nice drive when I’m on my way there. I looked at their season from the previous year while I was going on the interview. They actually had a pretty good year last year. I watched their Hudl film and some of the kids that are returning. I saw the potential of the kids when I was doing my research.”
Saygo will also coach junior high softball. She has been a track coach when hoops ended, but wanted to try something new, volunteering for the softball position. In the classroom, special education inclusion is a familiar area from four years of experience. She has already noticed the effort of Onalaska’s student athletes during summer workouts, and that will be important for reaching the coach’s early expectations.
“The goal is that we are going to make the playoffs. Initially, that is what I am trying to implant in the girls. I am definitely an aggressive type of coach. I used to be an aggressive player. Of course, we are getting in shape, and like I told them, we may not be the most talented, but you will be the most in-shape team and most disciplined. I definitely want to be aggressive, but I am more of a schemer now that I have become a coach.”
She said that depending on the style of play, the team could run man or zone. She knows of two or three returning starters from the 2023-24 season, but past status will not guarantee anything for the upcoming months.
“For me being new and coming in, starters really don’t matter. Don’t think something just because this happened last year. I am bringing a whole different game plan, so my motto when I first met them is this isn’t last year. We are going to make big things happen, so let’s enjoy this process while we can.”
Saygo feels the players will adapt easily to her system. The coach said she also did her homework on scouting the future competition and knows what a challenge District 23-3A play will present. The ‘Cats will face Anderson-Shiro, Coldspring, Crockett, New Waverly and Trinity in the new alignment.
“It’s going to be tough, but we’re definitely willing to embrace the challenge. Me being there from the second week of June, they aregetting after it. They are hungry, they are motivated, they want to learn and want to do it. They are working hard, and that is the first step – trying to get kids to work hard and play hard for you. I told them that they already have that. We went to TABC in Bryan a couple of weeks ago, and just seeing them in that element, that is something new or them and they showed that they have that grit. If they keep that same mentality throughout the summer and in preseason, the sky is the limit when it comes to district play and then playoffs.”
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