BY BRITTNI MCCOY
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
WARFIELD — Martin County Middle School has hired Bruce “BJ” Endicott Jr. as its new girls basketball head coach.
Endicott, 43, comes from Eden Elementary, where he teaches fifth- and sixth-grade math. A lifelong Martin County resident, Endicott brings 16 years of coaching experience across several sports. He is also the president of the Martin County Cal Ripken League.
Endicott has a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and a master’s in learning and behavior disorders. He will finish his Ed.S. (education specialist) in December, including principalship, instructional supervision and DPP.
He and his wife, Ashley, have three children, Corey, 17, Collin, 12, and Carmen, 9.
Endicott played elementary basketball for the Turkey Pirates before moving on to Inez Middle School and Sheldon Clark High School. His high school career ran from 1996 to 2000, and he graduated from Sheldon Clark in 2000.
His coaching career began outside the school system with youth baseball, youth soccer and recreational basketball. He later served as an assistant coach for the middle school soccer team before taking over the Eden Elementary boys basketball team in 2021 and the girls team in 2022.
Since he started coaching at Eden, Endicott’s boys and girls teams have combined for an impressive 124-38 record.
In his first two seasons with the Eden girls program, Endicott’s teams lost only two games in the first season, then went undefeated the following year and won both the county tournament and the Eastern Kentucky Elementary Basketball Conference tournament.
His teams have built an impressive run of success at Eden. The girls won the county championship in 2022 and finished as EKEBC runner-up. The boys swept the A, B and C divisions in 2023, and Eden captured both the girls and boys championships during the 2023-24 season. The boys won the championship again in 2024-25.
This past season, Endicott helped lead Eden to both the girls and boys county championships, with the boys program sweeping all four age divisions.
“I have coached many great athletes over the years both on and off the court,” Endicott said. “Some are playing on both the boys and girls high school teams, and others have gone on to success in other sports and school districts. But most importantly, I have built relationships with all my players that I hope they will cherish for a lifetime.”
Endicott said coaching young athletes has taught him patience and the importance of earning players’ trust.
“They are still kids,” Endicott said. “They will work just as hard and put forth just as much effort as older student-athletes, but they need a little more patience, encouragement and understanding along the way. Once you invest in building strong relationships with them and earn their trust, they will give you everything they have and accomplish things they never thought possible.”
Endicott described his coaching style as “players first.” He said the Lady Cardinals will continue to focus on fundamental basketball, effort and building up teammates.
“What I value most as a coach is effort and toughness,” Endicott said. “These are things that cannot be taught as a coach. They must come from the heart of the player. My goal is to motivate players. If you give players the right motivation, they will give you everything they have.”
Endicott said the move from elementary basketball to middle school is a big step and playing time will be earned through attitude, effort and commitment to the team.
“Playing time will come from players with a positive attitude toward the game and teammates, and players who give their maximum effort every time they step on the court,” Endicott said.
Tryouts are tentatively scheduled for the week of July 13-17.
Endicott said his priority is to hit the ground running by getting the schedule in place, adding summer games and practices, and building relationships with players.
“My goal for the team this season is to build on the name Cardinals,” Endicott said. “When teams come to play us, I hope they know that even though we are Cardinals, we still have a little bit of fight in us. We will play hard, both defensively and offensively, and have a tenacity that is unmatched.”
Endicott said his long-term goal is to continue the legacy built by Robin Newsome and carried on by her daughter, Boo Newsome, who previously coached the middle school program.
“They ran a great program built on leadership and tradition,” Endicott said.
Endicott also plans to work closely with the high school program and Coach Lewis to help prepare players for the next level.
“The middle school program’s hope is to help not only create great student-athletes but also tie both programs together and work hand in hand to help lead Martin County girls basketball to success,” Endicott said.
For Endicott, the job is about more than basketball. He said he wants parents to know he will pour his heart into the program.
“One thing that I would like parents to know about me is that I am a coach with a big heart and I love all kids,” Endicott said. “Coaching and teaching are what God blessed me to do, and I will pour my heart into being a positive role model.”
Endicott said the culture he hopes to build is one of friendship, camaraderie and memories that will last well beyond the players’ middle school years.
“I want it to be the most memorable years of their lives,” Endicott said. “They can look back and remember their middle school years like I do when I played.”