It’s rare that you can call a coach a Legend at the age of 43.
But that is the case, with Fort Bend Marshall Boys Track & Field coach Lloyd Banks.
Coach Banks, a native Houstonian, was a two-sport star in football and Track & Field, at Jack Yates High School. He was an all-state kick return specialist, which led to him receiving a football scholarship to Southern Methodist University (SMU). Coach Banks later transferred to Sam Houston State University, where he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology.
After graduation, Coach Banks started his coaching career in 2002, as the assistant track coach at his alma mater, Jack Yates. He left Yates and had brief stops at Cullen Middle School and Sterling High School, before returning to Yates as the Head Track & Field Coach in 2008.
Coach Banks immediately turned Yates into winners. He was named the Houston Coaches Association’s Coach of The Year. He left Yates again, becoming the assistant girls track coach at Westbury High School in 2010, and helped lead them win a state championship.
In 2011, Coach Banks was hired as the Head Track & Field Coach at Marshall High School. When Coach Banks arrived on the Missouri City, TX campus, the track program needed some new direction. It didn’t take long for Coach Banks to put his thumbprint on the program, and after only two years on the campus, he led the Boys program to back-to-back State Runner-up finishes, in 2013 and 2014.
In 2015, Coach Banks and the Marshall Boys on Buffalo Run weren’t going to be denied, bringing home their first state championship. They did it in true M-BLOCK style, setting a state record by scoring 90 points, which was the most ever scored in a UIL state track meet. They followed that championship up with an encore performance in 2016, repeating as state champions and successfully defending their crown as state champions—winning Back-to-Back state titles.
Coach Banks once again led his team in 2018 and 2019, to Back-to-Back state championships.
In 2020, Coach Banks was named the Director of Track & Field at Marshall, for both the Boys and Girls programs. Both programs were under his stern direction, along with a great coaching staff.
The Girls program reaped the benefits of his coaching immediately, winning their first state championship in 2021. Not to be outdone by the Boys, the Girls followed it up with another state title in 2022—winning Back-to-Back titles themselves.
The Boys also won another state title in 2022.
Six seniors signed scholarships: Janai Williams, North Texas; Cesley Williams, University of Houston; Desaire Roberts, Sam Houston State; Tariah Johnson, North Carolina A&T; Christopher Brinkley, University of Texas; Troy Dixon, Lamar; Jonathan Howard Jr., Sam Houston; and Gerald Holmes, Stephen F. Austin.
The Mighty Buffaloes have a total of seven (7) state championships in Track & Field. That is quite an amazing accomplishment for the athletes and coaches and the entire community.
Coach Banks’ accomplishments are as followed:
Girls Track & Field State Champion Westbury High School – 2010
NFHS Texas Track & Field Coach of The Year – 2015
Texas Track & Field Coaches Association Boys Track & Field Coach of the Year – 2015 & 2019
U.S. Track & Field and Cross-Country Association High School Coach of the Year – 2015 & 2019
Prairie View Interscholastic League Coaches Association Coaches Association
Coach of the Year – 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019
Max Prep National Track & Field Coach of the Decade – 2020
Fort Bend Marshall 5A State Champions (Boys) – 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2021
Fort Bend Marshall 5A State Champions (Girls) – 2020 and 2021
Coached four (4) High School All-Americans
Coach Banks’ career is far from being finished, even though he has already reached legendary status. With all his accomplishments, the foundation is set and sitting on solid ground. Best believe that the championship trophies and accolades will continue to fill the trophy cases at Marshall High School, as long as Coach Banks is roaming around that blacktop track on Buffalo Run Dr.
He clearly “Understood The Assignment.”
I Just Tell It Like It Is!!
– Burl “The Coach” Jones