Longtime assistant, Mark Avila, takes reins of Tigers' boys' basketball team as Joel Sligh steps down after successful term as Lemoore High School head coach

And after many years as the varsity Tigers assistant coach – and a stint as a coach at Kings Christian High School – Avila has been handed the reins to Lemoore’s varsity basketball team.   

Avila was a Lemoore Tiger, through and through, a guy who relishes purple and gold. “I could not wait for the day I got to put on the Tiger uniform and play for the Tigers,” said Avila. “I got the chance to play with some great players and be coached by some great coaches,” he said.

He got to play for Lemoore under the legendary coach, Jim Gordon, and then Jeff Cardoza in the Nineties.

Somewhere along the line, Avila decided he wanted to coach, so he hooked up with his friend and mentor, Joel Sligh, the Tigers’ longtime coach, a successful coach in his own right, who, in addition to several successful years, managed to guide his Tigers to a CIF Central Section championship in 2016 when a potent Tiger team delivered the Div. II Central Section Championship to Sligh, defeating Ridgeview High School at Selland Arena.

“I started out as a JV and travel ball coach at Kings Christian School and became the head varsity coach where I had some great years there,” recalled Avila. “Then I joined Joel’s staff at Lemoore High School as an assistant coach for the past ten years.”

He felt like he had returned home. He loved LHS and says it has always been an honor to coach with Sligh. “I have been blessed to coach here with all the great young men, all of whom mean the world to me, and coaches who became part of my family.”

He also had plenty of support from his family, all of whom have supported his coaching career. “My wife Cyndi has always supported me, through the good times and bad, always supporting me as a coach, and without her support, it would not be possible.”

Avila recently turned 46, and he and his spouse, Cyndi (married 25 years), have three kids in Austin 30, a daughter, Cassidy, the head volleyball coach at Sierra Pacific, and daughter Shawnee, a senior at Fresno State this year.

Avila has nothing but nice things to say about Sligh. “I’ve spent ten years as an assistant. This will be my first year as head coach,” said the confident Avila. “Joel is a great coach. I learned a lot from him.”

Avila has another job too. “I’m the vice president for the company I work for, Road 1,” he told The Leader. The job, he says, “allows me plenty of time to coach.”

He truly enjoys the game of basketball. “It’s just being out there for the kids and being a positive role model. It’s something I’ve always loved. I just love teaching the game.”