Citing personal reasons, Patrick Brown has stepped down as head basketball coach at Lafayette High after one season with the Rams.
Brown said he and his wife Sarah are expecting their second child – a girl who will be named Mackenna Grace – at the end of May. Brown learned in January that the baby will likely be born with a “physical challenge” that will require extra attention.
Brown, a longtime high school assistant who made his head coaching debut at Lafayette, said it was tough enough leaving his pregnant wife alone with their two-and-a-half year-old daughter, Avery, for long hours during basketball season. With another child on the way, stepping down was pretty much a “no-brainer.”
“I sort of knew back in January that I was going to have to do something, but I wanted to wait until we had all the details,” Brown said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better experience to begin my head coaching career, but continuing on would leave a lot for my wife to do on her own. And I don’t want to miss things that are going to happen over the next few months, so I think it’s the right thing to do.”
Brown guided Lafayette to a 7-16 overall record last season to earn one of the final spots in the Region I Division 3 playoffs. The Rams would pull off one of the year’s biggest upsets by defeating Battlefield District champion Culpeper in the tournament quarterfinals before being denied a trip to the state tournament a game later after losing to Bay Rivers District rival Bruton in the region semifinals.
Brown referred to the upset of Culpeper as easily his proudest victory on the court, but says his fondest memory was standing with his team as the national anthem played before each game.
“Especially the rivalry games when the excitement levels were high, and then everything just stops and everyone’s attention is on the same thing,” Brown said of the national anthem. “My dad served in the Army for over 20 years, so I was a military brat growing up.
“It’s random, but those are what I’ll miss most I think.”
Brown, who for the last decade has made stops as a JV and varsity assistant coach at schools such as Jamestown, Warhill and Menchville, will continue teaching health and physical education at Berkeley Middle School, but said he hasn’t given much thought to a potential return to coaching.
“I definitely enjoyed my time here; it was actually a dream come true because it was something I wanted to do since I was in high school,” Brown said of his first head-coaching gig. “Anytime you get a chance to mold and build a team and have a positive effect on a group of young men, it can be very rewarding. But I can’t put myself over my family.
“I wish I could continue, but that would be doing the opposite of what I want to teach to my players.”
