By ALEX ABATE ~ DAR Sports Writer

Three Rivers has begun its search for an assistant women's basketball coach with the idea that the assistant will take over full head coaching duties for the sport in 2009-10, according to Three Rivers Athletic Director Gene Bess.

The hiring committee wants to have a candidate chosen so they can be hired at the July board meeting, Bess said.

The new assistant will work with current head coach Jack Childress for one season before being handed the head coaching position. Childress, currently the coach of both women's basketball and softball, will remain as the head coach of the softball program.

After coaching the basketball program for 20 years and the softball for 10, Childress was given a choice of which sport he wanted to be the head coach beyond the 2008-09 season, and after much internal debate, he chose softball.

"It was a tough decision because I like both programs," Childress said. "(I chose softball) because of the stress factor and so on. It was kind of what I needed to do as far as everything."

Bess stressed the importance of getting someone that can come in and hit the ground running as the assistant.

"They will get a year to get their feet on the ground," Bess said. "If they have college experience, they won't need as much adaptation; but if they are a high school coach, it will give them a chance to get a feel."

The new assistant will have to prepare quickly and learn the little quirks of the job from Childress over his final season.

"There is a lot of little things like recruiting and scheduling, conference rules, ways to do things that are set in stone," Childress said. "Hopefully, I can impart some of my experience."

Childress wants his last year with the Lady Raiders to be just as good as years past. He is still even searching for another post player to add to the roster for the upcoming season.

Even though Childress will still officially be the head coach, the new assistant will have a solid amount of input when it comes to schemes and strategy, Childress said.

"This person will have a lot of leeway because they are going to be the next head coach," Childress said. "I am going to, depending on everything, let them have a lot to say."

Even though Childress will give up basketball after this coming season, he is just glad to be part of Three Rivers, he said.

"I could've done some other things at one time or another, but I enjoy this job," Childress said. "Winning is certainly important, but there's other things that are intangibles that students have that are real valuable."