After spending five years at Buda Johnson High School, coach Ben Kinnison assumed the head coaching position of the boy’s basketball team. 

Kinnison started his coaching career at Keene High School before going to Buda Johnson.

“I’ve always looked at Mansfield ISD and Legacy in particular as a good place to work because I already know the area,” Coach Kinnison said.

As a freshman in high school, Kinnison’s high school basketball coach adopted him. Kinnison’s father died when he was 7 years old, leading him to be raised by a single mother. Once he got into high school, his basketball coach saw the need and adopted Kinnison and his brother. 

“He always did good at being able to separate being my father figure and being my coach,” Kinnison said.

 With this adoption, he became a “coach’s kid” and bounced around the state. This gesture made by his coach greatly impacted Kinnison and gave him another father figure to look up to. Even today, Kinnison and his family go visit him for holidays. 

“That’s my kids’ grandparents now, that’s where we go for Christmas,” Kinnison said. “He’s the reason I coach. Wanting to be the person I needed when I was a kid is the reason I got into [coaching].”

With the admiration of his father’s influence on him as a coach, Kinnison focused on the culture and intangibles of the team. He brought in the motto of “win the day” accentuating the focus of bettering yourself every single day, taking no days off. This approach, so far, has been noticed and appreciated by the players. 

“We’re focusing on the little stuff between the big picture,” Senior Shannon (Jr) Ellis said. “Just winning a drill and focusing on what we’re doing.”

Kinnison focuses on building the culture of his team through communication. In drills, players communicate with each other, giving compliments on good passes and good shots throughout the rep. The extra encouragement creates more positive attitudes and mentalities for the players off and on the floor.

“He’s been trying to bring a positive influence to the [basketball] program then having us spread [positivity] out here in the classroom,” Ellis said

Ellis respects Kinnison’s efforts of reflecting on themselves outside of the drills. Giving players writing time to review times they’ve had a negative event happen and how they should respond instead of reacting based upon emotion. The desire to help his players grow as players and people has already generated positive impacts in Kinnison’s first couple weeks as the head basketball coach. Kinnison desires a sense of stability in the basketball program.

“The players and coaches here deserve consistency,” Kinnison said. “They have done a great job with their work ethic.”