The Holy Innocents' athletic program is more than excited to announce that Mario Mays – this past season's interim head boys' basketball coach – has been named the official head man, it was announced late last week.
 
"We are excited to take the interim tag off of Mario, and name him our head boys' basketball coach," Athletic Director Tony Watkins said. "We made this decision several weeks ago.  He and his staff did an excellent job leading our program this season, and we look forward to building a program that our school will be proud of."
 
Coach Mays was the assistant in the 2019-2020 season before moving to interim head coach on literally the first day of practice late last October. To say what he, his staff, and his team achieved was and is more than an amazing story – his promotion is now icing on the cake.
 
"I'm excited about it," Coach Mays said. "This is not just an accomplishment for me, but it's also for the people that I work with. Everyone in the program works hard, I'm just now the man out front."
 
Though Mays said it was a bit of a whirlwind when he found out his interim status last fall, it was also obvious that he adapted easily into his new role. "Actually it was a very easy transition, because I've always believed in the way Coach (Cabral) Huff did things," he said. "His core beliefs, his values, and his motivating the kids past just the game of basketball are consistent with my own. In fact, it's largely the reason I came over to HIES."
 
And it was smooth on the court, though despite all odds. The team was quarantined for somewhere around 50 days, and there was a constant stop-and-start to the season. It ended with a region championship despite being seeded fourth, and a second-in-state finish in Macon in the Class A – Private final.
 
"It was tough, but our mindset was to never allow the kids any negativity or complaining," Mays said. "Our attitude was to stay in the moment and to just be grateful that we would again and again be given the opportunity to play. After all, we never knew when it could be taken away from us. Therefore, it was never about having to stop, but more about being excited for the opportunity to get back out there again."
 
Looking back, Coach Mays brings plenty of hoop's experience to the bench. He began coaching as an assistant at Lakeview Academy in Gainesville, a role he played for seven years. After that, he served at Wheeler – also as an assistant – for 11 years.
 
"During all that, there was always a wonder about how things would go when I could use all I've learned when I got the chance to be the head man," he added.
 
And obviously, the fit was and is right, with the results speaking for themselves. Still, after the dust clears from this March, what does our official new leader have in mind for the future?
 
"Keep on keeping on," he said. "I'm so grateful for all the support here – from the kids, the parents, the teachers, the administrators; everyone has been so supportive which makes it even better. Now, with the bar set high and with the expectations up, it's going to be a matter of establishing consistency."