Spoke to Coach Evan Fancourt this afternoon, and he let me know his days over on Alma Pinnix Drive are coming to and end…Evan Fancourt will leave Page High School, and he will begin his new job in orthopedic sales, at the end of this month…
The key word to describe Evan Fancourt is competitive…He was so engaged in the games he was coaching that he would look up sometimes, and realize he was out on the court, and he was almost into the games…Page High School basketball for the past four seasons, and before that he was the head coach at Southern Guilford High School for five years…Nine years as a head basketball coach on the high school level, and fourteen years as a teacher in the Guilford County Schools system…
And why is he leaving???
This new job is an opportunity that he feels like he needs to try and go for now, and the orthopedic sales job will give him a chance to advance, and find a way to prosper in the sales field, and that can lead to providing a very solid income, that can, and will be a benefit to him and his family…
Coach Evan Fancourt still has the passion to coach basketball, and he has not ruled out returning to sidelines in the future, but he really feels like the time is now, to go for this new job…
The Fancourt family will also get to see more of Coach Fancourt at the home court, and he will definitely have more time to spend with his wife, and his two sons…His oldest son is Jackson, and Jackson is now five years old, and his youngest son is Jameson, and Jameson is nine months old…
The coach in Coach Fancourt will still live for the rest of this year’s T-ball season, at Latham Park, where he is currently coaching Jackson’s five-to-seven-year-old team, and they have a game tonight at 6pm, so T-ball, is now first on the Fancourt schedule ahead of B-ball…
Coach Fancourt was still talking about many of his former Page Pirates players today, including Josh Scovens, Jaden Ellis, Grady Sherrill, Alex Jones, Jerron Blackwell and many others…You can tell he loved what he did, coaching basketball at Page HS and at Southern Guilford HS, but there is a big part of him, that wants to find out, what is on the other side…And on the other side right now, is a very good job, in orthopedic sales….
We also talked about two of his former Southern Guilford Storm basketball players, Tyler Dearman and Julius Burch, and the fact that both of those young men are still going strong playing college basketball, for Coach Tom Palumbo and the Guilford College Quakers…
Many many great kids Coach Fancourt has worked with over the years, and he spent his high school basketball playing days at Grimsley High School, and he played college basketball up on Lakeside Drive in Lynchburg, Virgina, playing for the Hornets at Lynchburg College, now the University of Lynchburg…
Evan Fancourt spent many of his youth basketball days playing basketball on the concrete slab, down at the Forest Valley Court…He grew up to love the game, and the game has been very good to him, over the years…
But now it is time to leave the game for a few years maybe, and then look at coming back, maybe later on…
The thing we all have to keep in mind is, Coach Fancourt is stepping away from Page High School, and he is stepping out, to see what is on the other side…
The pros/positives say this could be a break for him in his professional career…The sales part of this new endeavor could well help make his family very happy…The cons say and will ask you, can the Fancourts survive away from the court??? Coach Fancourt has been on the basketball court for probably 95% of his adult life, and maybe 75% of his entire life here on the planet earth…
This is a big challenge, and we wish Coach Fancourt the best, on this new path/road he will travel down…On this new road in his professional life, there are no penalties/violations for traveling….
Also, as we look into that con column, there is something we all, and we mean all of us will be missing, with Coach Evan Fancourt missing from the high school basketball sidelines…
No more Jackson Fancourt flying across the floor, at Page High School, during halftime, and after the games…Little Jackson would take off running and that little fellow would go all night, if you let him, and that was part of the fun, being over at Page, part of the fun, was seeing Jackson run….That kid would run for a little while, he would stop, and then he would look around for maybe some encouragement, and then he would take off running again…
Lots of things that we will miss, and we will for sure miss not seeing Coach Evan Fancourt leading the Page Pirates boys basketball team next season, and we are already looking forward to seeing when he, Jackson and Jameson will make their triumphant return to the hoops heaven…
We’ll see you soon…
Coach Evan Fancourt’s Overall Coaching Record at Southern Guilford and at Page HS for the nine-year overall stint was, (134-93)….
Coach Fancourt was named Coach of the Year in 2017, 2018, and in 2020…
(His current T-ball coaching record is [0-6], but that is about to change tonight, sometime shortly after 6pm.)
One of the best things you have to like about Coach Evan Fancourt is that he has a true appreciation for old school basketball, and he for sure knows the value of a good outdoor basketball court basketball, when he sees one……
The man’s energy, enthusiasm, competitive nature, and pure love of the game will be missed, but again, we feel like we will see it all coming back around, sometime in the future, and like the good movie told us, sometimes you have to go “Back to the Future”….
Going to miss Fancourt being at Page. Loved talking basketball with him and he always had a great perspective when it came to coaching and teaching high school kids.
Completely understand his decision as most people do not realize the time and effort that goes into coaching high school sports on top of the demands of teaching.
Add to that the commitment to his growing family and a great opportunity in the medical sales field and it is easy to see why Coach Fancourt probably needs to make a change.
He will be great in sales as his competitive nature will not allow him to fail.
So I am happy for him and his new opportunity but I am sad to see him leave and I wish him the best of luck.
Man… that is a HUGE loss for the Pirates. Fancourt is one of the best coaches in the state of NC. He joins a plethora of other coaches leaving the Page athletic program. Not sure how they will stop the “leak” over on Alma Pinnix.
I heard there will be some player movement with the news that Coach Fancourt is leaving. Let’s hope it’s not too many of our good players. Good luck to Coach on his new venture.
Unfortunately there will always be player movement going forward.
Too many people out there who want to “help” kids.
Student athletes and their parents are easy to manipulate when they are told what they want to hear and not what they should hear.
Which is the truth.
Club basketball is big business for some and is how they make their living.
What parents and student athletes sometimes forget is that they are customers for personal trainers and club basketball. So when they are being “advised” they should probably seek guidance from someone that is not trying to keep them as a customer.
As society has changed so has competitive sports. Unfortunately it is a rare kid that is willing to work hard to try and beat tougher teams. It is much easier to transfer and join a team that is already successful.
As soon as a talented student athlete is noticed by schools that recruit, the kid and their parents are preyed upon by people who promise that they have the student athlete’s best interests in mind.
Whatever the student athlete and their parents are being told will happen, if a kid comes to their program, they should request it writing and see if the promiser is willing to provide a guarantee.
Values, that used to be part of the equation for playing sports, have fallen by the wayside. Things like dedication, loyalty, hard work and respect are no longer considered important and it is a sad thing to watch happen.
Going to miss Coach Fancourt on the sidelines over at Page and will miss his family and their support of the Page program too. Hard to replace players and even tougher to replace good coaches like Coach Fancourt.
Good luck to him and his family in the future.
More comments and these showed up over on Twitter:
Mike Muse
@CoachMuse
What a loss for HS basketball
Scott Tyson
@Coach_TysonSGHS
I know right!
Noma
@Nomathedog
Great Coach. Hate he is leaving the coaching scene.
He was only at Page for a short time, but he was a tremendous influence on his players and the students he worked with.
Hard to replace the good ones.
I can remember when we started at Southern together, we turned nothing into something. Job well done sir. Proud of you
That Southern program was at rock bottom when her took over. Turned them into a championship contender. Will be hard to replace a coach like that.
Coach Fancourt is a great coach but an even better person. Very big loss for the Pirates.
Yeah rumors swirling that Jerron Blackwell will be leaving for Dudley smh
Blackwell rumors are very real. Those have nothing to do with Fancourt. He won’t be the only one.
Football may be worse this year than last. Losing coaches, now kids…
Page should have never hired a Aau Coach to help program. Coach Baldwin behavior hurt some of the Pirate great coaching tradition. Both football and basketball. Blackwell played for him. Athletic directors should really background checks on a lot of these coaches for character instead of players they can bring in.
We don’t need to be blasting coaches that are working hard to get the job done….Page will lose coaches, but Page is a breeding ground for top coaches and players…Page will always get good coaches and players, because Page has that brand name…
Coach Bagamary had to leave Page, he now has a head football coaching job at Eastern Guilford High School..
Coach Garrett Mills moved up and he is the head football coach at Walkertown..
Coach Baldwin got a better job down in Charlotte…
These were good assistant football coaches and it was time for them to move up and on…
This is what the process has always been about…You don’t stay around as an assistant coach, when you man move on and become a head coach, or when you can go bigger as an assistant coach….
As far as players go, I don’t see Page hurting for talent, they have some very good kids over there….Sometimes if you move on as a player, you may find the field crowded at your next destination…
I would not want to go somewhere else and get lost in the crowd of talent, on the high school level….
Like we have always said, and like we should always be saying, “We need to support our local high school coaches now more than ever.”
Let’s support our local coaches…These are tough jobs, these are not easy jobs at all…
if Page was winning I would say they were not hurting for talent but for the past 3 season Page hasnt been so great especially in football. Page can not afford to be losing their best talent but aye next men up rule. Ready for some high schoool football
Robertson has a great record vs Grimsley. Name another Page coach with a career 0-4 mark… I hope he stays for the next 10 years!!!
Andy you do an outstanding job but sometimes some comments get blocked when we speak about coaches. Yes some need to be talked about you let opinions be said about athletes such as Blackwell when his personal business is his. Coach Fancourt did an outstanding job at Page also a great person. But the fact that Coach Baldwin is Blackwell aau coach doesn’t give him a pass. His sideline antics was not of Page tradition. Trying to fight and even Spat at a coach after the Grimsley game. Me personally Fancourt nor Page need that type of negativity on the staff. Let’s no forget the Great Mac Morris , Coach Kirby and Coach Nance these are Coaches who represents the Pirate tradition. Fancourt will be missed tremendously. Please stop letting Aau Coaches disrupt these great programs. Kids go where they are guided by their mentors. My comments are not to bring shade on anyone but this is done in the public and needs to be addressed by the public. Let’s get back to Page Pirates winning ways.
Baldwin was basically fired from Page for inappropriate language towards a student. He didn’t leave for a “better opportunity”. The Pirate athletic program is better off without guys like him.
A lot goes on behind the scenes that the public is not aware of, self included. As a whole, in the end, it is best for me as an outlet to stress the positives…Got to keep that part coming in first and foremost…There is still a lot of good going on at all of our Guilford County Schools programs…
GSO Sports…Do you know the whole story? Just curious as to whether you work in HR for GCS, or maybe you are just the disgruntled head coach that cannot keep his people…
Rather Baldwin was fired or left on his own, regardless he upgraded is pay and with a better program so it’s a win for him.
AAU sports is running the sports world! Better get with it or get left. Blackwell gave Page 2 good season at some point you get tired of carry an offense on your back
Good luck to Francourt, he was a good coach and i get he needs to do what is best for him.
It is true that brand league aau runs the show, public school basketball has sadly become irrelevant.
Blackwell to Dudley is a good move for him and it is his call to make not ours. Page likely would have kept playing him at qb which would not help maximise his chances at the next level.
What the heck is going on at Page? Teachers and coaches leaving in droves.
My Brother, I wish you well. The basketball community will truly miss you. I have always loved the way you cared about your players on and off the court. It was not only about basketball, you were also teaching the kids how to become leaders in their respective communities. Remember, I was there when you first started at Southern Guilford. We supported each other. Congratulations!!
How many coaches has Page lost this year? Don’t need the reason, just seems like a lot have left that athletic department.
For those saying Baldwin is why Page is losing athletes I wish you would shut up. Baldwin wasn’t the reason Barnett, Melton, or Shaw transferred to Grimsley, nor is or was he the reason any players transferred, quit, nor refused to come back out. It’s ok to sometimes sit back and shut up about things you personally don’t know about, if you really want to know why kids are leaving just ask the kids or those who have dealt with them. FYI Baldwin doesn’t coach AAU anymore, and Grimsley has a slew of AAU coaches so again shut it up!!!
NO one is blaming Baldwin what was said is his antics on and off the Court/Field. Talk about that or you didn’t see it. Figured y’all just bump gums it wasn’t a good look for a historical program.The main subject was Fancourt and how he will be truly missed. Fancourt was to good of a Coach and a great program to have that type of behavior going on. All these schools in the area and you talk about Grimsley wow must be the tail kicking they been giving Page lately. We need to get back to County school and City schools playing each other more for the rivalries and the gate. Northeast really needs that. Gonna be a powerhouse coming up with how big the Reedy Fork area is now and growing. Then there gonna change the district again smh.
When a player transfers from a losing program to a winning program it’s because they want to be coached/developed well and they want to be a part of a certain culture. When a player transfers from a winning program to a losing program it’s because they want more playing time. Players move in both directions…