By Daniel Green | BWS Sports

HICKS — Winning four state championships and two Class C title game Most Outstanding awards might be enough for someone to call it a career.

But not Hicks senior Avery Coffman. She still has a little bit left to prove.

With her tank far from empty, the sharpshooting  all-state guard for the Lady Pirates inked her letter-of-intent recently to play basketball at Louisiana State University in Eunice.

“I’m very happy about choosing LSU-E,” Coffman said. “I really liked the area because it kind of reminds me of home. Also, the coaching staff believes in me and it really seemed like a family atmosphere.”

Coffman, the daughter of Adam Coffman and Sabrina Miller, plans on earning a degree as an ultrasound technician, where she will work primarily in baby sonography.

The journey to LSU-Eunice was quite a challenging one for Coffman. Although she has been a part of four state championships at Hicks, it hasn’t been eary, especially the last two years.

“The good outweighs the bad, but it has been a struggle,” Coffman said. “It has been hard to overcome not having our own gym for the last two years, but it really fueled me. Along with my teammates, we have been able to set a standard for winning championships and that means so much to me especially.”

According to Hicks head coach Mike Charrier, Coffman will be an asset to the Lady Bengal program.

“Avery is an awesome player and an even better person,” Charrier said. “I’m excited Avery will have the opportunity to play at LSU-E. She will definitely add depth to their program, both on and off the court.”

Coffman, whose younger brothers Addison and Aiden play both basketball and baseball at Hicks, comes from quite the basketball pedigree. Her father, Adam, was a part of the first Top 28 team for the Simpson Broncos, who at the time was coached by Charrier. Her mother, Sabrina, was a two-time state champion for the Lady Broncos under the tutelage of Jay White.

Avery Coffman has always seen the support from her family and they have been quite the encouragement along the way.

“My parents always tried to get me into the sport and they taught me a love for it,” she said. “They have been there every step of the way and are my inspiration.”

She is also grateful for the support she and her fellow Lady Pirates have received from the Hicks community.

“We have a great community in Hicks,” Coffman said. “They have truly been our greatest supporters.”

There were some other schools interested in Coffman’s services, including LSU-Alexandria, Louisiana Christian University and a couple of Texas schools. But ultimately, she picked LSU-E, where she felt the most comfortable.

Not only did Coffman win four state championships during her career, she was a two-time BWS Sports all-Vernon Parish performer and a two-time all-state selection by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association.