It has been 31 years since Bradley Payne has been fully involved with Breckinridge County, having graduated in 1995 after a stellar basketball career. Now, the longtime Daviess County assistant coach returns to his alma mater, having been recently named the new head coach of the boys’ basketball program.
“It is a full circle moment for me. That is where I played,” Payne said. “After 27 years of coaching, to have a chance to go back there and end my career coaching there is a dream come true. It is not something I had on my bingo card. …The timing was perfect, and I still wanted to remain in high school athletics in some way, shape, or form. I am really grateful and humbled by the opportunity.”
Intrigued when the job first became open, Payne reached out to the school to share his interest, and after applying and a few conversations, he was hired. It is a homecoming in more ways than one, as Payne’s family roots are still very deep in the Breckinridge area.
Well versed with the 3rd Region, Payne has already started to watch film on his new team and is set to meet with his players in the next few days.
“I am not trying to go in there and reinvent the wheel because Breckinridge is very tradition-rich, and these kids know what it means to play for Breckinridge County,” Payne said. “I am going to go in there and do what I do best and do it with a passion. Hopefully, that is contagious to them.”
Having spent the previous 15 seasons with Daviess County as an assistant, this marks the first time since the 2010-11 season that Payne will be back at the helm – having been the girls’ head coach for Trinity (Whitesville) for four years.
“It is definitely a change of pace. The game has definitely changed,” Payne said. “But head coaching and assistant coaching are a different beast altogether. There are a lot more responsibilities that are non-coaching responsibilities. The coaching to me will all come naturally. Making sure where the schedule is where it means to be, the bus schedule, practice schedule, and all of the paperwork will be something that I will have to get reacclimated with.”
A defensive-minded coach, Payne takes pride in his team stopping players and trying to find weaknesses in opponents’ offenses. But with the shot clock just around the corner, he is expecting drastic changes to the way teams play.
Ready to start the next coaching chapter of his career, Payne was very appreciative of his time with Neil Hayden during his long stint at Daviess County.
“I am really thankful for the opportunity that Neil Hayden gave me to be along the side,” Payne said. “I have never coached with anyone as long as I have coached with Neil. I owe him a great deal of gratitude for keeping me on, and I have learned a lot from him. We spoke, and he was really supportive about me taking the job, and he wished me nothing but luck.”
