Tommy Lewis’ swan apparently still has some song left.

A little more than a month after he announced his retirement as Cherokee County High boys basketball coach immediately following the Warriors’ win in the Northeast Regional Tournament championship game, Lewis on Thursday was hired for the same position at Piedmont High School.

Lewis leaves behind a legacy in Centre that will be difficult to match.

In his five years at the helm of the Warriors, Lewis posted a 118-37 record, three area titles, two Northeast Regional Tournament appearances and a Final Four berth.

In addition, Lewis’ squad won five straight county tournaments and County Invitational Tournament titles.

Lewis’ finest hour occurred this past season, when he guided the 2005-06 Warriors to a 31-2 record, the regional championship and a spot in the Class 3A state semifinals. Cherokee County’s first loss to an Alabama team was to Sumter County in the Final Four.

Including stints at Gaylesville (1985-88) and Spring Garden (1988-98), Lewis spent 19 years teaching and coaching basketball in the Cherokee County school system. In all, Lewis’ various Trojan, Panther and Warrior teams won 10 county titles and 13 area championships. Besides his final two CCHS squads, Lewis’ Spring Garden teams qualified for the regional tournament four times.

Lewis will teach physical education at Piedmont.

"It’s always exciting to build a program when you first arrive at a new place," said Lewis. "It’s a good situation at Piedmont. They’re real tickled and excited, and it’s nice to know that a few members of the education board love basketball as much as I do. It will be a nice change in atmosphere.

“I thought that my time at Cherokee County had come to an end, and at the time that I announced that I was stepping down I really thought that was it for me as far as coaching was concerned. It was a good stopping point for me. I think that I’m leaving the program in good shape, and whoever takes over next year will have some good players. I think that I’m leaving on a great note. It’s a sad but exciting time right now.”

Piedmont athletic director and head football coach Steve Smith is excited to have Lewis as the Bulldogs’ cage leader.

“No question about it, it’s a good hire for us,” said Smith, the Cedar Bluff head football coach from 1994-2005. “We had several good applicants after the position became available, but we decided on Tommy after he expressed serious interest. I’ve watched Tommy coach since I was in high school [at CCHS]. I’ve seen his teams play for the past 15 or 20 years, and I’ve always been extremely impressed with how he coached and how successful his teams have been. We feel very fortunate to have him here at Piedmont. I’m excited to work with him and I know that our kids are excited to have the opportunity to play for him.”

Lewis takes over a Piedmont team that went 12-67 over the past three years under Bobby Whaley, who resigned in February.

“Having Steve there was a factor in my decision,” said Lewis. “I think that what Steve is trying as an athletic director is to put good coaches in every sport in the school and be judged by their success. If I can get this program turned around, Steve can be excited about that.

“Hopefully the drop down to [Class] 2A will give us a bit of an edge, but it won’t be a walk in the park with teams like Sand Rock, White Plains and Pleasant Valley. Piedmont is returning a lot of players, but I’ve already told the kids that things might get worse before they get better. Trying to build up a program is completely different than maintaining success, and hopefully we can make this work. I had three great coaching experiences so far, and hopefully I’ll have room for one more.