By Ross Johnson

Sports Writer

When Michael Fannin heard the news, he was shocked.

He thought he was going to be the Callaway High assistant boys’ basketball coach, but that all changed when girls’ head coach Albert Gilliam resigned last month.

Principal Kevin Jones notified Fannin he would be the new girls’ coach.

With a little more than a month to prepare for the team’s first game against Lamar County on Dec. 11, Fannin went right to work.

As an assistant under Gilliam last year when the Lady Cavs finished fourth in Region 5-AA and earned a playoff bid, Fannin had a head start on getting to know his team.

His brief move to the boys’ team under new coach Greg Moultrie warranted some backlash from the girls, but now everything is running smoothly.

“The girls, they were a little mad at me when I went to the boys’ team,” said Fannin, who graduated from Callaway in 2003. “But we built a positive relationship last year, and when I became their coach it was all positive.”

Fannin graduated from Alabama State two years ago, and knew he wanted to be a coach.

While baseball has always been his No. 1 sport, he realized his knowledge and experiences in basketball meant he should be coaching.

“I always had a love for basketball,” Fannin said. “One day, I sort of had an epiphany when I realized I knew so much about it. My instinct and I.Q. of the sport led me to be a coach.”

As a player for the Cavaliers during his high school days, being able to coach at his high school was a “blessing.”

“I was like ‘Wow, pinch me. Is this really happening?’ ” Fannin said of the moment he was hired. “Every assistant coach aspires to be a head coach one day, and I’m fortunate my opportunity came so soon.”

A familiar face will be coaching alongside Fannin this season.

Ken Mapp, the Cavaliers’ long-time boys’ basketball assistant coach, will be helping Fannin coach the Lady Cavs this season.

Fannin was a player under the direction of Mapp and former coach Terry Hayes during his high school days, and he knows what to expect from the veteran coach.

“He taught me some things when I was playing for him,” Fannin said. “I can let him take a group of a girls and I know he’ll be teaching them the right things. He knows what he’s talking about.”

Mapp, who is also the Lady Cavs’ softball coach, is motivated by Fannin’s youth and energy with the team.

He said Fannin’s strengths are his hustle and desire, as well as willingness to learn new things.

“We get along well. I think we’ve got a good relationship working-wise,” Mapp said. “I can see his enthusiasm and that makes me want to get into it too.”

Some of Mapp’s coaching techniques should look familiar to Fannin.

“I’ve showed him a few things that he remembers,” Mapp said. “He’s going to remember a lot of stuff that we did.”

Under Fannin, the Lady Cavs’ goals won’t change at all.

Despite losing some key seniors from last year’s 16-13 team, Fannin and the team want to achieve and build upon the same things they accomplished last season.

“The goals won’t change,” Fannin said. “The ultimate goal is to win, and the girls have been working hard.”