Clint Baty replaces another local legend
LAKE TRAVIS — Clint Baty couldn’t help but chuckle at the irony. In his first boys head basketball coaching gig, he took over for a local legend, Larry Berkman of Marble Falls.
And June 8, he was hired as the new head coach of the Lake Travis High School boys basketball program, taking over for the retired Jan Jernberg, who stepped down after 14 seasons.
"Jan Jernberg has done a tremendous job over 14 years," he said. "Before he came here, they won five or six games a season to having winning records each season. Following that will be tough."
But Baty isn’t worried he can’t measure up. After all, the first season he was at the helm, the Mustangs went to the regional tournament, which made school history. No other Marble Falls boys team has won three playoff games.
"I’m thankful for both opportunities," he said.
For the past three seasons, Baty sat on Jernberg’s bench and coached the freshman squad the first year and the junior varsity the last two.
"First of all, it was very humbling," he said. "(Jernberg) had an opening, and he requested for me to come here to our administration. I appreciated the opportunity.
"I also learned quite a bit from Jan," he added. "Fourteen winning seasons in a row is not an easy thing to do."
The former Mustang coach was on the Lake Travis bench when the Cavs reached the Class 4A state tournament in 2009-10 with a record of 30-10. They lost in the state semifinals.
It was the first time Baty attended the event as a coach on the sideline. He also was a member of the 1985-86 Dripping Springs team that advanced to the Class 3A state tournament.
The success of the 2009-10 season was due in large part to the disappointment in not getting to the state tournament a year earlier. The returning players vowed the outcome would be different, Baty said.
"(The year before) we probably had a better scoring team," he said. "The expectations, at least from our end, we felt like we fell short of our goal. The state team played better together. Courtside in the Erwin Center is a culmination for all the hard work. Colleagues are watching you."
Last season, however, the Cavs missed the playoffs. The biggest reason was because of graduation, and Lake Travis slumped to a 17-16 finish.
"Our chemistry was not the same as it had been," Baty said.
But he’s looking to turn that around. With returners Drew Nikolovski, Stefan Vidovic, Matt Tyson, Luke Hutton and Henry Castner and some junior varsity players, the new head coach believes the Cavs will perform well