KCHS coaching changes detailed
Leaving Tri-Cities area, Mains takes over Lady Irish varsity basketball
It’s never easy to leave home, but that’s exactly what Travis Mains is doing.
Mains, a graduate of Daniel Boone High School in Northeast Tennessee, is leaving the Tri-Cities area to become the next varsity girls basketball head coach at Knoxville Catholic High School.
“I went to Daniel Boone and it’s hard to leave home,” said Mains, who coached the Lady Blazers from 2013 to 2018. “But this is a great opportunity for me and my family. My wife (Missey Mains) is going to teach over there, and the support you have from the community and the administration is great.
“I didn’t coach the last two years because when my daughter was in sixth grade, I wanted to take some time to work with her,” he added.
Missey Mains will be an assistant coach in the basketball program.
A closer look
Mains, a businessman specializing in logistics, hasn’t coached since 2018, when he guided the Daniel Boone Lady Blazers to a 30-5 record and their first Class AAA State Tournament appearance. His overall record at Daniel Boone was 133-63.
“It’s an honor for me to have the opportunity to lead the girls basketball program at Catholic,” Mains said. “I can’t wait to get to know the girls currently in the program and begin working with them.”
While the Lady Irish program has had its struggles in recent years, Catholic had its best season in recent memory in 2019-2020, going 11-18 and reaching the Division II-A state quarterfinals.
Basketball ‘junkie’
Mains is a self-proclaimed basketball junkie, and he has been for years. He’s an avid University of North Carolina basketball fan, but roots for the Tennessee Volunteers Football team.
“I love to watch good basketball,” he said. “But I’ve been a Tar Heels fan for years – but Tennessee is lucky to have a guy like Rick Barnes (as Men’s Basketball head coach).
“I’m kind of a basketball junkie. I remember getting the Street and Smith’s (season preview books) every year,” Mains added.
Mains played his college basketball at King University in Bristol, where he recently was inducted into the King Sports Hall of Fame.
But his head coach at Daniel Boone left a big impression on him.
“I played for Bobby Snyder, and he was a great basketball coach,” Mains said. “He was also a great man who taught you about life and he had a big impact on me.
“He made me always want to be around the game.”
His family
Travis and Missey have been married for 20 years and have two daughters: Sydney, 14, who will be a freshman at KCHS this fall and is a basketball player, and London, 5.
