Willie Gause has coached his final game as the Head Basketball Coach of the Kecoughtan Warriors.

Gause confirmed to VirginiaPreps.com in March that he has stepped from the position he held for eight years, seven seasons in which he compiled an overall record of 107-55 overall.

A host of factors played into the decision, specifically away from the court.

“With being a pastor and a full-time dad of a nine-year-old comes great responsibilities. I think I saw the handwriting on the wall that it was time to step away. I’ve been blessed to carry on the tradition of the program and am proud of our success. I will forever be indebted to my AD Lucas Brown and the amazing players along with the dedicated and passionate coaching staff, who developed a program that was unbreakable to our goals of greatness,” remarked Gause.

In fact, Gause was pretty sure before the 2022-23 campaign it would be his final one on the sidelines at KHS. Even after the graduation of Peninsula District Player of the Year D.J. Campbell to Western Carolina from their team that won 20 consecutive games, the Warriors remained a contender in the gauntlet that is Region 5B.

This past season’s Kecoughtan squad – led by a trio of seniors that earned First or Second Team All-PD honors in Justin Bass, Dershon Ormon and Jadon Pace – finished 19-4 overall and reached the regional semifinals for the third time since 2020.

“I knew going into the season that this would be our last ride and I told them at our first practice. I wanted to get it out of the way so there was no distraction or any rumors. We wanted to make it fun and memorable. This was probably one of our most exciting years coaching,” Gause added.

“From the beginning to how we were at the end how much we grew, it was great. It was a testament to having a great coaching staff and players who were loyal, dedicated and bought in to what we were trying to accomplish. They made this final year great. It was an amazing ride.”

Before Gause became Head Coach at Kecoughtan, he learned as an assistant under Ivan Thomas, who went 127-60 in seven seasons at the helm before taking an assistant coaching job at Providence in 2015. Thomas is now on Ed Cooley’s staff at Georgetown. Gause got his first opportunity as a Head Coach in 2013-14 at Warwick, where he guided the Raiders to a 13-12 overall record and 5-1 mark in the PenSouth Conference.

When Gause returned to Kecoughtan, there were certainly big shoes to fill and a high bar of expectations set. Yet, many of the same principles and approach to the game remained the same, making for a relatively smooth transition. After an 11-13 finish in 2015-16, the Warriors posted six straight winning records.

But it goes beyond the numbers as to what Gause is most proud of during his tenure.

“That we developed young men,” Gause replied when presented with that very question. “Every single player that played for us graduated. Not every program can say that, so that’s outstanding to see. We have guys that are college graduates, fathers, business owners, in the military and some that are now coaching themselves. That’s what’s priceless. It’s never been about wins and losses. My mentor and great friend, the late great Ben Moore, always told me it was more than a game. I look at it in the totality of what we were able to do outside of the game. It was about turning boys to men in the journey.”

In regards to get who gets tabbed as his successor, Gause would prefer that it’s someone with familiarity when it comes to the players and the program, keeping it in the Kecoughtan family sort of speak.

“It’s my hope that someone from our staff gets the opportunity to take over so that Kecoughtan keeps the continuity of what we’ve established.,” Gause indicated.

So what’s next? Installed as the Pastor at Philippi Missionary Baptist Church in Hampton, Gause will focus more of his time and energy in ministry. He’s also not entirely ruling out a return to the sidelines in some capacity one day.

Commented Gause: “To be continued . . .”

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald and The Farmville Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him from 10 AM to Noon on 757 Saturday Sports Talk on 94.1 FM in Tidewater.