Girls basketball names head coach

Casey Pallister has been named as the new head coach for the girls basketball program, and is looking forward to the challenge. Casey, along with his wife, Meghan, and their four boys, Jayden, Hunter, Ian and Reed, have lived in Sisters three years. Casey jumped right into coaching immediately, and for the past three years has coached the girls junior varsity, and also been the assistant varsity coach.

That experience makes him very familiar with the program, and the transition should be smooth and seamless.

Pallister started playing basketball when he was five years old, and played all the way through high school. Casey played as point guard on the varsity team while attending Jefferson High School in Boulder, Montana.

Pallister and his wife both grew up in Boulder. While Casey was finishing up his graduate work in Eugene, they visited Sisters on numerous occasions.

In 2010, Pallister got a job teaching at Culver High School. At the time, they lived in Redmond, and Casey would commute to Culver, and Meghan would commute to Sisters to teach preschool for SPRD. Casey was the boys JV coach and the assistant varsity coach at Culver for two years.

"We've always liked Sisters," said Pallister. "It's a quaint little town, and when I was teaching in Culver, we dreamed about moving to Sisters."

Together, they made their dream happen, and moved their family to Sisters in 2013. Casey has taught social studies at Sisters Middle School for the past two years, and next year will move to the high school to teach.

Pallister is excited to step into his new role as head coach, and has big plans for the program.

"I want people to know the program is going to be new, and it's going to take a different course," said Pallister.

Casey told The Nugget that there will be a strong focus on fundamental skills, a focus on man-to-man defense, and a focus to put together an offense that can be used program-wide, from youth through high school.

Pallister also noted that he will work to maximize the strengths that the team already has, which is strength and technique in the post position. He plans to place players in positions that will be most effective, and work on playing a tempo that suits the Lady Outlaws, which he said will ideally be a slower and more controlled pace.

Pallister shared his goals and vision for the team and the program.

"I want us to be competitive in league, and basically have the seniors walk away feeling like they've had a successful season, regardless of the record. I see this first group of girls as the vanguards of the program. They've got a big responsibility of setting the tone of the program for the many players coming up.

"I want to work to make girls basketball a popular sport in this town, and that comes with connections with the community, parents, teachers, and players. I want to have three teams (freshman, JV, and varsity) every year."

Pallister is excited about coaching, but told The Nugget that he knows there's a lot to learn as a head coach.

"It's kind of like teaching," he said. "You can take a lot of classes, and learn by watching others, but I've found that the experience of doing it helps me learn most effectively."