By Randall Hauk
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

West Seattle High School has announced that Darnell Taylor will succeed Sonya Elliott as head coach of its girls-varsity basketball team.

“Coach Taylor lives in the West Seattle community and wants to see our Girls Basketball program succeed at the highest level,” WSHS athletic director Trevor Leopold tells WSB. “He will demand a lot of the players, and, by doing so, will be able to build relationships, not only with the girls on the team but the community, as well.“

Taylor, 36, spent the 2014-15 season as an assistant at Liberty High School in Renton, helping head coach Carly Fromdahl guide the Patriots to a district championship. Despite the success, Taylor tells WSB that the commute from his West Seattle home to the east side of Renton was forcing him to consider taking a break from high-school coaching, as he had prior to last season to be able to help at home with the pending birth of his son DJ, now 3 years old (with his dad in the photo, above right).

Once the head job opened “right up the hill” at WSHS, Taylor discussed the opportunity with wife Courtney and pursued it.

“Once this popped up, I had to go for it,” says Taylor, noting that he did so with a “thumbs up” from Courtney, who is expecting the family’s second child in September. “The location is a huge factor, but, really, I just love coaching. It’s really, really fun.”

Fun though it may be, Taylor has some very big blue-and-gold shoes to fill. The five-year run under the departing Elliott culminated in a sixth-place finish in the Washington State 3A Hardwood Classic, as the Wildcat girls went to the state tournament for the first time. Elliott also won her second Metro Coach of the Year honor, while leading the Wildcats to the 2015 Metro League championship.

Leopold, however, believes the program landed the right person for the task.

“Coach Elliott did a lot to help the program grow over the years,” says Leopold.” and we are confident the program will continue to grow under coach Taylor’s leadership.”

For his part, Taylor does not arrive without an understanding what he faces in taking over a successful program, rather than starting a rebuild.

“They’ve had so much success under their former coach, the main challenge for me will be gaining the trust of the players,” says Taylor. “We’ll work hard to keep the boat moving forward, with the goal being to continually build on each year. … The ultimate goal is to win state.”

Despite losing three seniors to graduation, including Emily Fiso, the team’s second-leading scorer from last season, Taylor should have plenty of talent at his disposal in trying to continue the momentum built during the Elliott era.

This season’s Metro League MVP Lydia Giomi and Lexi Ioane both averaged double-digits in points last season as juniors. Giomi, a 6’6” center who recently committed verbally to play her college ball at Oregon, also averaged more than ten rebounds per game.

Taylor, who played two seasons at Western Washington University, says when he’s on the court working with his team, he expects a lot from his athletes, but stresses that he strives to make himself available for off-court communication.

“The biggest thing about me is that I’m very transparent; what you see is what you get,” says Taylor of his leadership style. “I want players and parents to know that we’re going to work hard and play hard, but I am also very approachable and happy to talk, whether it’s about basketball, life, or anything else.”

While the basketball chops were a primary concern in bringing Taylor to WSHS, his communication skills helped sell his new employers on the coach.

“We could not have been more impressed with the way coach Taylor conducted himself in the interview,” says Leopold. “You can tell when speaking with him he has a infectious personality.

“We could not be more happy to welcome him to West Seattle.”

SIDE NOTE: This year’s WSHS girls-basketball team is nominated as regional “Girls’ Team of the Year” in a KING 5 online poll that’s open until next Tuesday (June 16th) – go here to vote.