More than anything, the Jefferson City Lady Jays' basketball program needs stability at the top.
Brad Conway is ready to fill that need as its new head coach.
"This is a great opportunity for me and I'm looking forward to it," Conway said Friday. "This can be a great program and I want to be a part of it."
This is a destination job for Conway, who will be the fourth head coach in three years for the Lady Jays.
"I plan on being here until I retire," the 49-year-old said. "This is a place my wife and I want to be. This is a great place to end my career.
"My goal is to get this program back to being one of the best around and I'm going to work my tail off to get it there."
Area fans may remember Conway for his time at St. James High School, where he posted a record of 299-97 in 14 seasons. In nine of those seasons, Conway led the Lady Tigers to 20 or more victories.
Conway has been the head coach at Jefferson High School in Festus the last two seasons.
"Brad has a great coaching resume in the state," Jefferson City activities director Mark Caballero said. "When you call a number of people around the state - athletic directors, former coaches, coaching association presidents - Brad's name was at the top of the list."
The Jefferson City position definitely had Conway's attention.
"It's a program throughout the years that people have admired," he said. "This school takes a lot of pride in its athletic programs, the community gets behind them and the kids work hard to be the best they can be."
The first thing on Conway's to-do is is getting everyone to believe in what he is teaching.
"Everybody has to buy in, not just the kids, but the parents, the coaches of the feeder programs," he said. "Hopefully that carries over into a good program that people will support and follow.
"I'm going to work, I expect the kids to work. Everybody has to buy in, I am all-in and the players need to be all-in."
Jennifer Bowen, who was an all-state player at St. James under Conway and played NCAA Division I basketball at North Florida, will be on the staff.
"She's been there, done that," Conway said. "It's great to have another person who understands what I like to do on both ends of the floor."
Kay Foster returns to the staff as the head assistant coach, while Ben Hays also returns.
"Brad is a veteran coach who knows how important it is to teach from the top of the program to the lower levels the same things," Caballero said. "That's how you build a program and we believe Brad is the right person to do that for us."
Jefferson City will return four seniors from a team that finished 14-12 last season.
"The rapport with the kids has been great," Conway said. "They've been receptive to what I have been trying to teach. They're giving me everything they've got.
"I promised them I won't get frustrated with them and I hope they don't get frustrated with me. It's going to take some time to pick up on what I'm trying to teach and the first game is a long way away."
The Lady Jays will spend the preseason trying to build on what they learned during the summer.
"I'm not going to cram stuff down their throats and expect them to know it," Conway said. "We're going to find out what our strengths are and we're going to work on our weaknesses. I'm going to throw a lot at them and it will be a process of repetition, repetition, repetition, We're going to get it.
"Half the battle was the players having positive attitudes, and they have since the first day."
Conway's teams at St. James liked to get up and down the floor. That's a style he's hoping to have at Jefferson City.
"That doesn't mean we won't slow it down, but we want to play fast and be in control," he said. "What we're comfortable with, we'll stick with. Offensively, the girls have picked things up pretty quickly. Defensively, we still have some work to do. We will be successful, it's just a matter of getting the right chemistry."
Conway will teach social studies at the high school, while his wife, Teresa, will be a special education teacher.
"It's the first time we've ever taught in the same building," Conway said.
He's ready to get going.
"I know the program has been down a little bit, but I'd like to see it get back to the level where it was at one time," Conway said. "Jefferson City always has some great athletes, now it's a matter of trying to mold them and get them on the same page."