New Central Catholic basketball coach Bruce McConaghy was momentarily stunned Thursday morning when Carlos Enrico, the private school's longtime athletic director, offered him the job.
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"Mentally, I was geared up to find out Friday whether I had gotten it because that's when Coach Enrico had said he would let us know," McConaghy said Thursday afternoon. "When he sent me a text Thursday morning asking me to call him, I thought there was another person he wanted me to talk to at Central Catholic."
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What McConaghy didn't know was that Enrico already had his man.
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"When he told me I was the choice, I was kind of numb for the moment," McConaghy said. "I still am. I was kind of shocked. I was so excited that it took me a few seconds to tell Coach Enrico I would take the job."
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McConaghy, an assistant boys basketball coach at Judson last season, will join the Central Catholic faculty in August. He succeeds Romy Vela, who resigned last month after coaching the Buttons for five seasons.
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McConaghy, 54, was head boys basketball coach at Clemens for five seasons before becoming an assistant principal at Dobie Junior High in the Schertz-Cibolo-Universal City ISD in 2005. After three years at Dobie, he was an assistant principal at New Braunfels High School for three more years.
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"We had a good program at Clemens and it was a tough decision to get out of coaching, but my kids were playing in high school and I wanted to see them play," McConaghy said. "I'm glad that worked out, but I missed coaching."
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McConaghy returned to coaching as an assistant at Arlington Heights High School in 2011, and joined Mike Wacker's staff at Judson last August for his second stint with the Rockets. McConaghy was also an assistant under Wacker during the 1998-99 and 1999-2000 seasons.
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"It was always my intention to back into coaching because that was my first love," McConaghy said. "Coaching was where I wanted to be."
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Buttons made TAPPS 5A state quarterfinals last season
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McConaghy was also an assistant coach at Copperas Cove (1984-86), Boerne (1986-91), New Braunfels (1991-95) and Alamo Heights (1995-98) high schools.
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"We had a lot of good applicants for the job, but Bruce came highly recommended by a lot of people," Enrico said. "He stood out. He's an old-school guy when it comes to having a great work ethic, and is a great communicator."
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Vela went 22-12 in his final season at Central Catholic, which lost to Argyle Liberty Christian in the TAPPS 5A state quarterfinals. The Buttons didn't have a senior on the team.
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Central Catholic was 124-56 and made the playoffs in each of its five seasons under Vela, a 1960 Central Catholic graduate who was also the school's assistant athletic director and director of student services.
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"My goal is to continue the great tradition and success Central Catholic has had in the past," McConaghy said. "The reputation and quality of the school really attracted me to the job. I've always respected what Central Catholic and its programs have stood for."
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McConaghy will be a full-time employee at the school, monitoring students' grades and coordinating tutoring for those who fall behind in classes.
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"That was another big plus about the job, being on campus all the time," McConaghy said. "Had it been something different, I would have considered it. But I don't know if it would have been as attractive. I am all in. I'm glad I'm going to have the opportunity to be at the school all day and get to know the students."
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McConaghy said he plans to meet with his new players Friday.
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A Lexington, Ky., native, McConaghy moved to Austin with his family when he was in the sixth grade. He graduated from Austin Anderson in 1977. UTSA athletic trainer Jerry Greeson was in his senior class.
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McConaghy played basketball at Sam Houston State for 2? seasons before earning a marketing degree in December 1980. After working for a year with Texaco, he returned to Sam Houston in the fall of 1982 to begin work on getting a teaching certificate.
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He graduated with an education degree in December 1983, and started his coaching career at Copperas Cove in August 1984.
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McConaghy also earned a master's degree in education at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1998.
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