In just two short years, Ansley Nelson brought a team with a record of 4-26 in her first year, to having a winning season during her second year at 12-8.

The future for Lady Bulldog Basketball was in good hands until word came last week that the two year head coach had turned in her resignation as head coach.

Now, the direction the Lady Bulldog program is up in the air.

With the resignation of any sports position, the position has to be posted for 30 days. After the 30 days are over, the superintendent will review each applicant and then pass those applicants on to the site based council.

From there, a decision will be made on who the next coach will be for the Lady Bulldogs.

Nelson said it took a lot of thought, but she stands by her decision to step down as coach.

“I was overwhelmed by the amount of texts, calls, and face-to-face conversations I have had after it got out that I chose to resign,” Nelson said. “I didn’t realize how many people were that invested in me. I am thankful for that.”

Although Nelson only held the position for two years, she felt she made huge postitve strides for the program.

“It was very challenging. Myself and my staff came in the beginning with a bang and fresh start. We remodeled the locker room ourselves, had a Little Lady Bulldogs camp, and set some new guidelines for the team that summer. It took a while to get myself, my staff, and the girls to get acclimated to the new change, but I feel most things went smoothly,” Nelson said. “We had a rough season, but our goal as a staff was to keep pushing, because we knew there were brighter days ahead. COVID hit and we thought we would face our biggest challenge yet. However, those Lady Dawgs are relentless and COVID season made them push even harder to be successful. It was great being able to have that fast turnaround from 4 wins to 16 (over two years). I chalk that up to pure hard work and determination from all of those involved.”

As for now, Nelson hopes to be back coaching in the future. However, she feels being with her family is where she needs to be.

“Two years ago, I would have never seen my life as it is now. Obviously, my family dynamics have changed quite a bit. Last October, I welcomed my beautiful baby girl into this world. She has rocked my world, in the most wonderful way,” Nelson said. “There were many factors that attributed to my resignation, however, wanting to be able to spend more time with my family was the biggest one.

I don’t want new moms to think they can’t do big things such as this. I don’t want people to think I resigned because it’s impossible to do … that’s not the case. I am just choosing to put all of me into my family.”

Nelson said she believes she left the team in good spirits and gave them everything they need to be successful in the future.

“I feel that one of the biggest things that I left the players with is confidence in themselves and their abilities. My first year with them, they lacked a lot of confidence and leadership. Leaving them, I know they know what it’s like to lose and how badly it feels. And with this, I know they know now what it takes to win,” Nelson said. “It takes all 32 minutes from all players on the team. Even the ones who don’t dress or even step foot on the floor that night. They know how important all of their roles play in those wins. They know that their coaches aren’t perfect and neither are they. That it takes a VILLAGE! I pride myself in knowing that I was always honest with them even in my imperfections. This helped them be transparent with me in their lives on and off the court. I pray that they know how much I am going to miss them and how I still have high expectations for them although I won’t be their leader anymore. I will always be there for them, and they know that.”

Nelson said she will enjoy being a spectator for now.

“I don’t know what the future holds, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I saw myself back in a coaching role again someday,” Nelson said. “I don’t want anyone to think I took this prestigious position for granted, because I haven’t. This has been one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make. I know how important this role is and I want to make sure this Clinton County girls program gets someone to lead them this coming year who can give it 110 percent, because that is what it takes. Something I am not able to give to the program for a third season like I have the past two.”

Nelson said she is extremely thankful for the opportunity to have been placed in the role as head coach.

“Finally, I would like to say a big thank you to all of those who have supported me both during my assistant coaching role, to my application process, to my role as head coach, and my resignation … and to those who didn’t support me, you just fueled my fire.”

Citing needing to spend more time with her family, two-year head Clinton County High School Lady Bulldogs basketball coach Ansley Nelson announced last week she was resigning from that position. A stand-out player for Clinton County herself, Nelson’s Lady Dawgs ended last year’s season with a 12-8 winning record.