The Nixa High School Lady Eagles basketball team is going into the season with a new coach and new visions for success. Jennifer Perryman announced that she would be stepping down as their coach in July of 2023, leaving behind a record of 180 winning games and three district titles. From then on, the lookout for a new head coach began.
Athletics and activities director Dr. Brandon Clark researched candidates to get a better vision of their coaching experience and style.
“Those that are interested go through the HR [human resources] department and go through a general screening, then they give all those names to me,” Clark said. “… I do a lot of homework on them before they come in because interviews are hard to get a solid picture of someone in just an hour.”
A major part of the criteria when choosing a new girl’s basketball head coach was someone who could enact an everlasting impact on the program.
“You’ve got to start with someone who has experience with a program at our level…” Clark said. “The biggest thing I look for is someone who can build culture within the program.”
Jennifer Talbert was chosen for the role of girls basketball head coach at due to her success as head coach at Fair Grove High School.
“Of all the ones we interviewed, the research that I did about her came with very high marks and regards for how she interacts with kids, what she was able to do at her prior school and just looking at her success,” Clark said.
Talbert is a southwest Missouri native, who graduated from Glendale High School and continued her athletics and education at Southwest Baptist University, graduating with her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Talbert brought the Fair Grove Lady Eagles to a Class 3 State Championship title for the first time in program history during the 2022-2023 season. With a large student body difference, Talbert has found enjoyment in the change.
“Nixa High School is so huge,” Talbert said. “I have been impressed with the students I have in class and the girls that I will be coaching; Overall [they’re] very respectful.”
The former motto for the team has been adjusted to the word “compete.”
“That means we will give great effort at all times,” Talbert said. “We will stick together through the highs and lows of the game and we will play with a tremendous amount of energy.”
To senior and four-year varsity player Jewell (Jacy) Bray, this means more than just competing on the court.
“… It’s a word that can mean so much, it’s bigger than just competing in a game; it’s competing in the weight room or in practice, just going all out,” Bray said. “We use it as motivation to push each other.”
The transition between former head coach Perryman and new head coach Talbert has been an adjustment for all players, but especially for Bray. Perryman was Bray’s only coach since the beginning of her high school athletic career.
“I was super close with [Perryman],” Bray said. “I feel like they’re super similar in ways but there’s also ways that they are different. I think she [Talbert] just brings a super positive and uplifting feeling, especially in practices.”
However difficult the transition may be, Bray said she is grateful for the new opportunities Talbert brings.
“She’s really good at seeing the extra layer of different things that some coaches don’t usually see,” Bray said. “She helps us realize we can think for ourselves and do what we think is best when we’re on the court because she sees different things than we do.”
