Baird leaving Haywood for Independence

Over the past four seasons, Whitney Baird has helped build the Haywood girls basketball program into a Class AA power in West Tennessee.

But on Tuesday, she announced to her team that she will be leaving to become the head coach at Independence.

“I was ready for a professional change, and Williamson County has a lot of great perks,” Baird said. “It seemed like a great opportunity.”

This wasn’t a last-minute decision on Baird’s part either.

“I have been praying about it for direction,” Baird said. “I have been praying if I have been going in the direction I am supposed to be going in, and am I where God wants me to be. All the pieces seemed to fit together here.”

Baird has accumulated an 87-39 record in her four years at Haywood with three district championships and two region championship with one Class AA state tournament appearance.

So, when she gathered the Lady Tomcats together Tuesday morning, giving them the news was tough.

“I called them in this morning because I didn’t want them to hear it second hand,” Baird said. “Haywood will always be my first coaching job, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. We did a lot of big things here and proved some people wrong. I am genuinely going to miss Haywood and my team.”

Baird will have to be ready as Independence will bring new challenges as the school plays in Class AAA with the largest schools in the state.

“That is one reason I wanted to come to Independence was for a new challenge,” Baird said.

Haywood athletic director Tim Seymour wished Baird the best in a news release.

“We want to extend our sincere thanks to Coach Baird for the hard work and commitment to excellence during her time at Haywood. Her contribution to this program has had a lasting impact on the girls basketball program. Coach Baird played an instrumental role in the Lady Tomcats becoming one of the premier programs in West Tennessee over the past four years. We will aggressively move forward to hire a new coach that will represent our program and embody the same winning principles and tradition set forth. We want to wish Coach Baird much success in her new endeavor at Independence High School.”

Reach Michael Odom at michodom@jacksonsun.com or 731-425-9754. Follow him on Twitter @JSWriterMichael.