Goose Creek Memorial has a baseball coach, but excuse Chris Rupp if his attention is elsewhere right now.

"I don't want to do anything to detract from what we've got going on here," the Baytown native said Tuesday at Sterling's Ronnie Kluch Field, where he is winding up his second year as an assistant coach for Paul Tadlock.

"We've still got some unfinished business," he said, speaking of Sterling's ongoing work in the playoffs, which the Rangers will begin Friday when they host Deer Park in a 3:30 p.m. bi-district game.

"I think we've got an excellent chance to go to state and win it, with the team coach Tadlock has put together. I'm excited about getting these playoffs started."

Goose Creek Memorial head coach Bret Boyd is excited about adding a coach with Rupp's experience.

He was head coach at North Shore for seven years, at San Jacinto Junior College for nine years and at Sam Houston State for four years before returning to his alma mater two summers ago.

"Coach Rupp has a background that's second to none," Boyd said.

Rupp was one of four coaches approved by the Goose Creek school board Monday to work at the district's third high school, which is set to open in August.

Former Sterling girls' soccer coach Alyson Ankrom was named to the same position with the new school and Misti Melancon was named the head volleyball coach.

Jimmy Cammack was approved as an assistant football coach at Memorial.

Cammack, who currently works in the Castleberry school district near Fort Worth, will coach offensive line for Boyd and the Patriots.

"I interviewed five or six line coaches and he fit the mold of what I was looking for," Boyd said of Cammack. "We interviewed a lot of great volleyball coaches, but it kept coming back to Misti Melancon, because of her experience. She's taken some programs that weren't very good and she's built them up."

Melancon was an assistant basketball and volleyball coach at Barbers Hill for one year, head track and assistant volleyball coach at Hull-Daisetta for three years; and head track and assistant volleyball coach at West Hardin for two years.

She has been been both head volleyball and head girls' track coach at Vidor for the past two years. Her volleyball team finished second in District 22-4A in 2006.

Monday's hirings leave three head coaching jobs still unfilled for the 2008-2009 year – girls' track, tennis and softball. Boyd says he also has two assistant football coaches and one girls' assistant coach left to hire.

"I think we got as good a group of candidates as are out there," Boyd said. "I'm looking forward to getting them some help and get them all on board."

Rupp played third base for former Sterling head coach Ronnie Kluch in 1975 and 1976, then played for Angelina Junior College and Texas A&M.

His overall head coaching record is 432-293. He was Wayne Graham's assistant coach at San Jacinto, then took over when Graham moved to Rice University.

Four times he led San Jac to the Junior College World Series, where they finished as runnersup in 1998 and 1999. Then he followed Graham to Rice and was his assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the 2001 and 2002 seasons.

He became a Division I head coach at Sam Houston State, but resigned after four seasons in Huntsville yielded an 86-123 overall record.

"Things didn't work out like I planned (at Sam Houston)," Rupp said, "but that's OK, because here I am. I went to school here and this is my home.

"I'm really glad it worked out and I'm appreciative of the opportunity Dr. Sultis (superintendent Barbara Sultis), (Sterling principal) Trey Kraemer and coach Tadlock gave me to work here."

And starting this summer, Rupp will be at the new school.

"I think it's going to be a good opportunity for some kids to open up a new school," he said.

"There are a lot of good kids coming up from the Little League ranks continually, and this will give more kids an opportunity to play in high school. A lot of the kids are coming from Highlands, and that's where I'm originally from."

But for Rupp Tuesday, it wasn't about where he came from or where he was going to coach.

"Right now I'm trying to keep everything about the Sterling baseball team," he said.