Farwell High has completed its off-season hiring of basketball coaches as Shane Perkins will become the Steers’ boys hoops coach for the 2009-10 campaign.

Perkins was the head coach at Brownwood High, a Class 3A school, for the past 11 seasons. Perkins compiled a 203-201 record at his alma mater and led the Lions to three playoff appearances.

The hire comes shortly after Miles Watters, winningest girls basketball coach in New Mexico prep history, signed on to lead the Lady Blue in Farwell.

Mike Read, Farwell schools’ new superintendent, said that Perkins’ move from a 3A to a 1A school was partially prompted by family connections in Farwell.

“He came out and I think he was impressed with our facilities,” Eead said. “He liked the small-school setting and, I tell you what, we’re tickled to death to have him.”

Perkins’ wife Jana, originally from Roswell, has a sister living in Farwell and another living in Muleshoe.

“I wasn’t looking at other jobs or anything. I was told the job was open and I talked to Mr. Read and it seemed like, everytime I talked to him, things got a little bit better,” Perkins said. “I’ve never sat around and thought about what classification coach I am.

“I’ve got two kids and a lot of times you look at whether you want to be a bigger school head coach,” he added. “Sometimes you ask yourself if that’s the best place to raise your family.”

Read said that Perkins’ hiring will be on Tuesday’s Farwell school board meeting aganda. The Steers were coached last year by Patrick Finney, who returned to his home state of Oklahoma after two years in Farwell.

The Brownwood Lions played at the Texas Class 4A level for part of Perkins’ tenure before dropping down to 3A.

Brownwood has a rich history of football success and Perkins said that coaching basketball in the town, located about 50 miles southeast of Abilene, had more than its share of obstacles by comparison.

“I think a lot of people thought, since I was from here, that I was a lifer. This is a hard place to coach basketball in; it’s football country,” Perkins said. “They’ve got seven state championships, which is tied for the most in Texas. They were pretty dominant. The last one I think was in ‘81, but a lot of people in town think it’s 1981.”