After two years heading up the Lamar boys and girls basketball team, coach Josh Sherer is taking the next step in his journey.

Sherer, who led the Lady Raiders to an MAIS Overall championship this past season, will be the new boys basketball coach at Presbyterian Christian School in Hattiesburg. While Sherer wasn’t planning to consider another job, he told PCS he was willing to listen when they approached him about the opening. 

“After several conversations and a couple of visits, I just felt like this was a good step for our family,” Sherer said.

Also a chaplain for the Army National Guard, Sherer said one of the things that drew him to PCS is how the school places a spiritual emphasis in every aspect of the school.

“You can’t walk into a meeting without Jesus Christ being the sole purpose of everything they do,” Sherer said. “Outside of basketball and everything else, that was a huge component our hearts reacted to.”

But going to PCS means leaving Lamar, which isn’t an easy decision for Sherer and his family. His oldest daughter, Isabella, will be a senior next season, and it means taking her and three other children to a new school after growing to love Lamar. Being only the boys basketball coach at PCS, it also means he’ll no longer be coaching Isabella and his daughter Addyson, who is currently in the eighth grade

“It was a step we dreaded taking in the sense of moving,” Sherer said. “We’re leaving friends, and I won’t be coaching either one of them. I wasn’t planning on doing that when I came to Lamar, but once I did, I shockingly thought to myself, ‘Man, do I want to give this up?’ We had to make some tough decisions, but for our family, we felt like it was a great opportunity that we needed to take advantage of.

“We expected when we moved to Meridian that this would be it. That was our heart and intention. Now our intention is to be in Hattiesburg long-term. I’m not the kind of person who’s looking for the next best thing. I want my family settled and to enjoy where we’re at, establish and put down roots.”

Fortunately, Sherer said he’s leaving Lamar on good terms. 

“It’s not ugly on either side,” Sherer said. “We realize we’re going from one good situation to another good situation. I really hate leaving (Lamar athletic director) Shane Adams. I think he’s one of the better ADs around, especially the way he supports you and has your back. Those were things I wasn’t used to before I got to Lamar. I’m grateful for (head of school Leigh Anne) Ballou for giving us this opportunity and believing in us early.”

Adams said he was grateful to hear Sherer’s kind words and hopes he has made a similar impact with other coaches.

“It means a lot,” Adams said. “When I first became AD I though about what kind of AD I would want to work for, and I’ve been fortunate to have worked for some good ones. The main thing is, you hire people and let them do their job, and you ask them if they think they have what they need to succeed and if they’re spending enough time with their family.”

If there’s one thing he hopes his Lamar athletes take away from his coaching, it’s that they hopefully feel they had a relationship with Sherer beyond the court, one that continues.

“I’m going to miss those kids,” Sherer said. “They’re phenomenal kids on both sides with parents who have raised them right and a school that’s educating them the right way.”

In just two seasons, Sherer’s work with both the Raiders and Lady Raiders has left a lasting impression on the school’s basketball program as a whole, Adams said.

“He accomplished nothing short of what we thought he was capable of doing,” Adams said. “Josh is a team builder, be it through his work with the Guard, as a faculty member and as a basketball coach. He’s a Christian man who lets God lead his life, and when you do that, you’re not going to fail. That doesn’t mean it’s always going to be easy, but that’s how he did what he did, and we hate that we’re going to lose him and his family.”

As of now, Adams said the plan is to hire separate boys and girls basketball coaches and hopefully one assistant for each coach. Adams is currently Lamar’s interim baseball coach through the end of the current season.