Robbinsville – Just when the search for a new Robbinsville girls basketball coach appeared to be closed, the job suddenly became open yet again.
Tommy Johnson was publicly announced as the next leader of the Lady Knights' program May 6, but was just getting acclimated to the players when he tendered his resignation in early-July.
Citing personal reasons, Johnson opted to remain near his home in Wilkesboro.
Instead of the sudden shift throwing things into disarray, you might say that the introduction of 23-year-old Brooklyn Lester as the new head coach was divine intervention.
"What brought me here … well, God," Lester said. "I say that a little joking, but also as a very true statement. In my senior year of college, I met my now-fiancee Peyton McCracken. It was like God was telling me His plans are greater than my own. I never had the intention of moving away from home and even had a job waiting for me there. Through my relationship with him, I've fallen more in love with the mountains and just knew this was God's will."
A native of Dobson, Lester was a forward for the Surry Central Lady Golden Eagles. She was a four-sport athlete, graduating at the top of her class and was the student-body president.
Lester went on to attend Western Carolina University, where she majored in health and physical education, while also receiving a minor in coaching at the honors college. She also played club soccer and basketball at Western Carolina.
Her first coaching gig was as a member of the Rabun County (Ga.) High School staff, where Lester was the JV girls coach and assisted a varsity Lady Wildcats team that reached the Elite 8 of the state playoffs.
That was just last season. Lester has now adopted the Lady Knights program, which advanced to the Final Four in 2023.
"I loved the team I worked with and teaching at the high school level, but there was something missing and I knew there was more in store," said Lester. "Robbinsville was looking for a strong female to be a Godly leader in the school and that is exactly what my dream has been since I knew I wanted to teach."
In her short time as a Graham County resident, Lester has began working as the physical education teacher at Robbinsville Elementary School; and also served as an assistant coach for the Robbinsville cross-country program.
Robbinsville is 1-1 under Lester's watch, but you can already sense a new direction for the program when the Lady Knights step onto the court. Lester has big plans to bring the team back to prominence.
"There are some new things I'm excited to bring, like weekly devotions, team bonding and community service," Lester explained. "I believe having a female head coach is exciting for my girls. It'll be interesting to see how they will handle adversity, with the many changes that have taken place.
"We are working on being 'controlled chaos.' Many of our girls can read defense well and play off script, while some others are still developing the concept of playing with flair. Our goal is to be a balance of spontaneous and organized."