Those with inside knowledge of a program and it’s culture can have a largely positive effect on the community and the athletes who are impacted. Chisum head boys basketball coach Brian Temple has that inside knowledge as a current rising coach and a former student athlete.
“I went to Chisum all four years of high school,” Temple said. “I played football, basketball, baseball, and ran track. I did not go play in college — I guess I didn’t really have a desire to go play — I knew I always wanted to be a coach. In high school, we are the only team in football that has won a playoff game here. We went a couple of rounds my junior year.”
After a successful athletic career as a Mustang, Temple hung up the sneakers and cleats in exchange for textbooks, pencils, and a college schedule in preparation for his future coaching career.
“I went to PJC for two years, then I transferred to Texas A&M-Commerce,” Temple said. “From there, I went to Honey Grove for one year, and I’m entering my seventh year here at Chisum. My stepdad was the athletic director here when I was in junior high. He wasn’t my stepdad yet, but I grew up around coaches and saw how it all worked. I’ve always liked all sports and I knew I wanted to do this.”
Once he was able to establish himself in the field, Temple went back home to coach where it all started for him as a player — an opportunity he still relishes to this day.
“Being able to coach and go to school here, I feel like I’m very invested in the community and to the school,” Temple said. “We are lucky to have on staff myself, Coach (Zach) Millsap, both Coach Cope brothers, and Coach (Andy) Spear. That’s five of our eight male coaches that are graduates from Chisum. I feel like we have a staff that truly cares about the kids, the community, and wants to see Chisum succeed.”
Having stability and numerous coaches with the respect, knowledge, and admiration of their work place has been key, and it has also contributed to the Chisum athletes’ success on and off the court.
“This will be my seventh year with the basketball program, and I’m proud of the fact that we’ve made the playoffs in four of the last six years,” Temple said. “I’m proud of — for the whole coaching staff too — not just the accomplishments on the field, but the ability to teach these student athletes how to become men, be responsible, and to see them grow and mature.”
Before he began coaching, Temple’s life took unexpected twists and turns, but it ultimately resulted in a coveted experience.
“After I went to college, I moved to McKinney and worked as a store manager at a Sprouts grocery store in Frisco,” Temple said. “At the store one day, Herschel Walker came in. I got to talk to him and take pictures with him — there was a bunch of other celebrities like Deon Sanders that would come in. Frisco is kind of that uppity area right by The Star, so there was a bunch of Dallas Cowboys guys would come in.”
Temple not only met sports icons in the metroplex as the city blessed him with other unique opportunities as well.
“We went to a Dallas Mavericks game about six years ago, it was me and my wife along with two other coaches and their wives,” Temple said. “Before the game, an usher came in and asked me and my wife about playing in a game between the third and fourth quarters. We went down there and competed against two other couples — of course we won. We won like a $50 gift certificate to Central Market and something else too. It was cool because you don’t realize how big those players are until you’re down there on the court.”
He was a winner on the hardwood, but unfortunately a loser on the baseball diamond one day during a difficult drill.
“It was my freshman year playing baseball, and we were working on outfield flies with a machine that would shoot bouncy, yellow rubber balls for us to catch,” Temple said. “When it hit the ground, that sucker would shoot up high. Our coach would shoot them in the air — and he had it turned up way too high to begin with — and you would just lose it in the sky because it was so high. I thought I was under it, and I was sitting there waiting for it, and it comes down just right under my glove. The ball bounced off the hard ground, then hit me right in the bottom of the mouth. I can remember that very vividly, and that sucker hurt, too. I think I was bruised for weeks from that — I’m surprised I didn’t lose teeth or break my jaw.”
Whether he needs treatment for injuries like he suffered as a baseball player or needs to unwind from long work weeks, Temple knows exactly who he can count on to recharge his batteries.
“I’ve got a wife at home and two beautiful little girls that support me wholeheartedly with whatever I want to do in life,” Temple said. “Anytime I’ve had stress, I know I can go home and have two little girls that will run to me and love on me, and my wife Racey is just so supportive with everything I do. Being a coach’s wife can be so hard because hearing griping parents in the stands can be stressful for her. Some people also don’t understand that we are putting in 80-hour, 90-hour weeks, and basketball is up there, too. When I’m not at the gym for practice, I’m watching film at home. It definitely gets stressful from time to time, but having a supportive and encouraging family really helps.”
During his high school days, Temple recalls an ambitious claim from an eager teammate that resulted in a humbling moment from a big-time opponent.
“I heard Coach Millsap say before his senior year of playoff basketball, that he was going to shut down Tyrone Swoopes. And Tyrone Swoopes dunked all over him from Whitewright,” Temple said.
Temple will help assist the football program and will try to lead the Mustangs basketball team to the postseason for the fifth time in his seven seasons.
