Clint Tatum has been promoted from assistant coach to head coach of the girls basketball program at Siuslaw High School.

"Coach Tatum is an excellent addition to our program, and he has all the tools to build a successful program," Vikings athletic director Jeromy Graybill said.

"He already was working with most of the girls over the summer, and he has built a good rapport with them."

Tatum, 40, who owns his own construction company in Florence, has been an assistant coach with the Vikings for three years. He has coached youth-level teams in the Oregon communities of Lebanon and Jefferson.

Tatum also ran the Siuslaw Basketball Camp and coached the girls summer league team.

"I was asked by members of the basketball team to apply (for the job), so I did," Tatum said. "There's a lot of talent there."

One of those players would be his daughter, Destinie, a junior, who currently is running cross country.

"He has a lot of 'weapons' to work with, and he should be competitive in (the Far West League)," Graybill said.

Tatum planned a meeting with the players Thursday, Oct. 1, at the school. Practice begins Nov. 16.

Tatum's son KC, a sophomore, is expected to be a member of the Vikings' first varsity golf team, which will debut in the spring.

Tatum hopes to be considered as coach when Siuslaw launches a varsity golf program this coming spring. Currently he has a seven-member club team, all boys, and would like to see girls compete, too.

He will have to take his time-management skills to the next level with the addiitonal coaching duties plus the demands of the business he has built the past three years.

"It's going to be big, juggling a business and a basketball team," Tatum agreed. "I know what I'm getting into here."

Tatum replaces Carl Johnson, who left the program to retire.