Edwards steps down as LHS head girls basketball coach

One of the winningest coaches in Lovell High School history is calling it a career after 14 years at the helm of the Lovell Lady Bulldogs girls basketball team.
Chris Edwards announced his resignation in a letter submitted to the School District Two administration on Tuesday, April 2. His resignation was accepted by the Lovell School Board on April 15.
“I am writing to formally submit my resignation from my position as head coach of the Lovell Lady Bulldog basketball program after the 2023-24 season,” Edwards wrote. “It has come to a time when it’s best for me to take a break from this coaching position.
“This was not an easy decision for me to make as a coach, because I have immensely enjoyed my time as a basketball coach with the Lovell Lady Bulldogs. It has been an honor and privilege to work with such a talented group of athletes, assistant coaches and supportive administrators over the years. I have cherished the opportunities to contribute to the development of our players, both on and off the court.”
In a follow-up interview Tuesday, Edwards spoke to his pride in the Lady Bulldog basketball program.
“Over the last 14 years, the Lady Bulldog program has been a huge success, which is a testament to the assistant coaches I worked with and the dedicated athletes,” he said. “Fourteen years is a long tenure for any head coach in one specific school district, so I was very fortunate to be able to contribute to the success of basketball in Lovell, Wyoming, and do a job I have had a passion for and loved.
“The sacrifices made by coaches in this day and age are not truly understood by the majority of people. I’d like to think I provided a skill set that most people don’t have the capability of providing. I was willing to do a job both coaching and officiating, knowing I would be targeted by a percentage of people, but that’s just the nature of athletics, and I have no regrets in those decisions.”
A 1996 graduate of Lovell High School, Edwards, 47, earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education at the University of Wyoming in 2003 but started his coaching career as an assistant middle school girls coach under Gerry Christiansen in 1996-97.
After starting his teaching career at Lovell Elementary School, Edwards worked as a freshman boys basketball coach under head coach Joe Koritnik in 2005-06 and coached the freshman and JV boys for three more years under Koritnik and one more year under Brian May until taking the head girls coaching position for the 2010-11 season.
“I was very fortunate to work under Joe Koritnik as an assistant coach and learn from him,” Edwards noted.
Edwards found immediate success after taking charge of the Lady Bulldogs, winning back-to-back state titles in 2011 and 2012 in Class 2A with a record of 24-3 and 25-1 in the two years, respectively. He also won the 2A consolation championship in 2014 to cap a 24-4 season. When the Lady Bulldogs moved up to Class 3A in 2014-15, the Lady Bulldogs placed second at State in 2015 to cap a 21-5 season and won the consolation championship in 2016 to wrap up a 17-9 season.
The Lady Bulldogs played in seven regional championship games in Edwards’ 14 years and won five regional titles. Overall, Edwards compiled a 217-132 record and coached 38 all-conference players and 19 all-state players.
Individually, 10 Lady Bulldogs played in the Wyoming Coaches Association North-South all-star game, which Edwards called “an incredible feat considering the size of our school.” Seven of Edwards’ players have gone on to play college basketball, he said.
Edwards has been selected as state coach of the year twice and conference coach of the year five times, and fellow coaches selected him to be a coach for the North-South all-star game three times.
Edwards said he has truly enjoyed working with his assistant coaches: Bruce Morrison, Dave Scheffler, Stormy Jameson, Danielle Malson, Angie Hitz, Dan Wolvington and Dane Robertson, plus numerous volunteers.
“It’s not about me; it’s never been about me—or my program,” he said. “It was always the athletes first. The sacrifice and time spent away from my family should have proven that my commitment was to help all of the athletes reach their full potential.”
He said the names on the hardware in the Lovell trophy cases “reflect my capability to create successful basketball in such a rich basketball community, and I take pride in our program,” he said. “As I walk away, I truly appreciate the opportunity to work with various administrators and the support they gave, as well as the support from players, parents and the community.”
He also said he enjoyed his weekly interviews with Lovell Chronicle reporters to discuss the Lady Bulldogs.
 In final thoughts, Edwards spoke about his family.
“I can’t thank my wife, Ramie, enough for the endless support over the years as a coach’s wife,” he said. “Not only did she stand tirelessly by my side during all the years, she loved each one of the girls in our program like her own daughters and brought them into our home to feed and entertain them. She honestly deserves more credit than anyone for our success as a Lady Bulldog basketball program.”
In addition to high school boys and girls basketball, Edwards coached middle school track for some 15 years (currently head coach), middle school football for five years, JV football for one year and freshman volleyball coach for “a few weeks,” he said, along with summertime baseball. He is also a longtime football referee and baseball umpire.
Edwards currently teaches math and science at Lovell Middle School after a long teaching tenure at Lovell Elementary School.