Trent Hilliard has served as the Girls Head Basketball Coach at Frenship since 2014. His daughter, Madison Hilliard, a Frenship graduate is now a Girls Athletics Coach at Frenship’s newest middle school, Alcove Trails. The passion for basketball in the Hilliard family goes back several years.
For Trent, his parents said he was born with a ball in his hands. No matter the sport, he was always playing it. He credits a lot of his love for basketball to his Grandfather, Polk Robinson, a former Red Raider Basketball Coach and Texas Tech Athletic Director.
“A lot of my love for basketball comes from my granddad who was the head basketball coach for Texas Tech in the 40’s, 50’s, and early 60’s. He then moved on to Athletic Director for Tech,” said Trent. “Because of that, I basically went to every home Texas Tech football and basketball game from the time I was 3-year-old. My dad played baseball at Texas Tech so sports was always part of my life.”
Just as Trent grew up immersed in the game, Madison was raised in the same culture. Her love for basketball started in a similar place. From playing basketball to now coaching basketball, both Trent and Madison have a love for basketball that runs deep in their family history.
“I grew up attending my dad’s games from the time I was born. My dad took me to one of his practices just a few weeks after I was born to meet his team,” said Madison. “I then started attending games when they started back up after Christmas break. Ever since then, I have always loved going to basketball games and playing basketball.”
Trent has enjoyed watching Madison thrive in a coaching role. As a former Frenship Basketball player herself, Trent has had the chance to coach his daughter and now coaches alongside her.
“It is really special to see her doing great things on her own. She was entering her Freshman year when we made the move to Frenship, and she has embraced the Frenship Way as a student and now a teacher and coach. She is a natural leader and has a strong moral compass and faith that enables her to be both compassionate and demanding with her students and athletes,” said Trent.
Madison is grateful for the chance to be a Frenship Tiger. She feels blessed to continue the Hilliard basketball legacy.
“I am so thankful that I received the opportunity to work in the same district that I not only graduated from, but that my dad works for. I have loved getting to have my dad in the stands supporting my team and I in not only basketball, but also in our volleyball season earlier this year,” said Madison.
If it wasn’t for a phone call from previous Frenship Coach, Brad Davis, Trent wouldn’t be where he is today.
“I always thought that Frenship was a sleeping giant and had a great setup for success, so I interviewed and got the job,” said Trent. “That was in the spring of 2014, and I plan on staying here until it’s time to retire. I have the best job in the state!”
Madison credits her knowledge of basketball to her dad. Having the chance to attend countless games over the years and debriefing each play afterwards is what has helped build that expertise.
“My dad and I have always had a special bond because of our love of basketball. Growing up, I would always attend games with him,” said Madison. “These might have been other high school games or college games. We would always sit and talk about the different offenses, defenses, and plays the teams were running during the game. This helped me to gain a stronger knowledge of basketball.”
Another opportunity where Madison was able to dive deeper into the game was in the summer while she attended Texas Tech. Trent allowed her to help coach the Varsity Girls team to strengthen her coaching abilities. This helped her step into a stronger leadership role as a coach.
“This helped me greatly with my coaching abilities. I was able to see what it was like to run practices, coach against tough competition, and make in-game coaching decisions,” said Madison. “My dad has also allowed me to attend his practices many times to watch what drills they are running with their high school athletes. I just hope to one day be half the coach my dad is.”
It’s hard for Trent to fully explain how proud he is of Madison and the hard work she put into her professional career.
“She is a true student of the game. She has been coaching our teams during the summer for many years and she just loves to watch and study basketball. She will go to the State Tournament with me every year. She will go watch games on our open dates. But, more importantly she is great with the kids. She maintains a great balance between friendship and coach,” said Trent.
Having a deep understanding of everything that goes into being a coach is something that Madison learned early on.
“The advantage that Madison has in coaching is that she understands all the “extra” stuff that goes with the job,” said Trent. “The parent meetings, the long hours, the getting there before practice and leaving long after it is over. It isn’t a clock in/clock out job and sometimes that is hard for young coaches to understand. Madison knows that because she has grown up with understanding that aspect of it. I don’t look at her as following in my footsteps, but as making her own path and establishing her own way.”
Madison considers Frenship home. Returning home, but now as a teacher and a coach, allows her to help impart a love for athletics to other young girls.
“It truly means that I’m returning home. Frenship grew me so much as not only a basketball player, but as a person as well,” said Madison. “Even though I only attended Frenship for high school, I am so thankful for the connections and memories I made in my time as a student. I am excited to make even more memories as a teacher and coach in the district.”
Both Madison and Trent have found a spark for coaching. Whether it be helping the students grow and improve or creating meaningful relationships, both Hilliards love being in the Frenship Family.
“There are so many things I love about Frenship. The school spirit, the faculty, the fellow coaches, the parents,” said Trent. “It has been even better than I thought it would be. My favorite part is our kids. They play so hard, and we have extremely high expectations of them both on and off the court and our kids continually exceed those expectations.”
“My favorite part about coaching basketball is the relationships you get to build with your players,” said Madison. “Just this year, I have already formed so many strong relationships with my athletes that I know are making our team better as a whole. Thinking back to coaching the varsity girls in the summers, I am still close with many of those girls and have loved watching them this season. I am so proud of them and how well they are playing as a team.”
A fun family tradition between Madison and her sister is helping pick out a special sweater for their dad to wear while coaching. As long as Madison can remember he has always had his sweater superstition. Once the sweater is chosen, he has to wear it to every game until they lose. Then a new sweater is chosen, and the process repeats until the season is over.
This year Madison chose a very lucky sweater that has been involved in breaking several school records this season, one being the setting the longest winning streak in Frenship school history.
“I was lucky enough to pick out the first sweater this season that has now gone 18-0,” said Madison.
Trent says that having a strong support system is what encourages and motivates him the most. That strong support system is his wife, Cindy. For the 28 years that they have been married, Cindy has been in the stands or listening on the radio to every game.
“She is now getting to go watch Madison coach as well, so she has added an extra night a week of being in the gym,” said Trent. “She is definitely who makes it so we can continue to pursue our dreams of coaching these games. The emotional roller coaster that is a sports season is something that could wear down a person – Cindy keeps us grounded and helps us not to lose perspective of what is really important: our faith, our family, and the reason we do what we do.”
Frenship feels honored to have not only one Coach Hilliard, but two!