[1/10/03]Based on her team’s record, Kelli Campbell seemed to be enjoying a successful first season as coach of the Porters Chapel Academy Lady Eagles.

Other factors, both on and off the court, seemed to indicate otherwise, however, and Campbell resigned Thursday at the recommendation of PCA athletic director Bubba Mims.

The 24-year-old Campbell also manages a restaurant in Vicksburg, and Mims said he felt the long hours required to perform both that job and coaching were proving to be too much for her to handle.

“I just think the time element to me was the main thing, and her focus,” said Mims, who owned several convenience stores before signing on at PCA full-time as the athletic director and football coach. “She got the kids in wonderful shape. There’s some good things she did. But it got to a point where there’s pregame things, there’s scouting.

“There’s a lot of things she didn’t have the time to do. Bless her heart, I understand fully.”

PCA boys’ coach Kevin Griffin will take over for Campbell. He coached the Lady Eagles in a 64-49 loss at Deer Creek on Tuesday and will coach both the boys and girls teams for the rest of the season.

Both Mims and Griffin said they weren’t sure whether Griffin would continue to coach both teams next season.

“It’s been so hectic, we really haven’t thought about that,” Mims said.

Campbell was a standout softball, soccer and basketball player at Warren Central in the mid-1990s. She coached the PCA junior high girls for one season before succeeding Mitchell Willis as the varsity coach last summer.

The Lady Eagles were off to an 18-4 start this season, Campbell’s first as a varsity coach at any school, but many of the games were close. The team often struggled in the first half, and Campbell took the blame herself for a couple of the losses.

“The past week or so, before the Christmas break, you could tell there was a lot of frustration among the team,” Griffin said.

After the Lady Eagles lost 53-52 to Tensas in the championship game of the Briarfield Tournament on Saturday, Mims said he decided to make a change.

He and PCA headmaster Gwen Reiber met with Campbell on Monday and recommended she resign.

“I feel we have a team that’s capable of going a long way, and I have to do what I feel is best for the kids and the school,” Mims said. “We just think it was time for a change.”

Campbell said the meeting took her by surprise.

“It was a shock to me, put it that way,” Campbell said. “They didn’t think they were learning anything … I would say our record would show different.”

Mims said the record wasn’t the only thing he looked at before finally asking Campbell to step down. The general attitude of the team and the atmosphere surrounding it also played a part.

“Eighteen-and-four for that girls program is not unusual. That is a good record. There was a decline in the effort, there was a decline in the intensity, there was a decline in the interest,” Mims said. “They always say there’s a lot more to it than wins and losses. We all want to win, but there’s a lot more factors involved that you have to look at.”

Despite the sudden mid-season change, both Campbell and Mims were gracious. Neither said they harbored any ill-will toward the other, and only wanted the best for the Lady Eagles program.

“I’m all right with it,” Campbell said.

Campbell said she is close to getting her teacher’s certification, and hopes to land another coaching job somewhere. Mims wished her luck.

“Everybody loves her. I think she just took on too much, too early,” Mims said. “I think she’ll make a good coach someday. She can do (sports) herself and she has the knowledge.”