JT Keith
In New Mexico, some last names are known before the first names are ever said. Yates — Peyton and Harvey — and Chase, as in Mack, are names long tied to oil, business and influence.
The Henderson name carries a different kind of weight. It is known for football, winning, and a standard few programs ever reach. Together, L.G. and Cooper Henderson won 20 state football championships and 403 games, more than any family coaching duo in New Mexico sports history.
NMHSCA Award
On Friday, July 24, the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor made it official, inducting Cooper and L.G. Henderson together.
“The biggest honor is the players and the coaches you worked with, and those people who helped you get where you are,” Cooper Henderson, 71, said. “It makes you slow down and appreciate all the people who had a part in your life.”
Cooper went 293-103-1 in 32 seasons at Ruidoso and Artesia. He led those programs to 15 state championships, all but one at Artesia, and ranks fourth all-time in wins among New Mexico coaches.
Lessons from dad
Cooper and his brother, Butch Henderson, both played for their dad at Artesia. Cooper, a Bulldog from 1970 to 1972, saw L.G. in two roles: the demanding coach at school and the father who left football at the field unless his sons wanted to talk about it at home.
“Playing for my dad was a really good experience for my brother and myself,” Henderson said.
Cooper said his dad taught him countless life lessons, but the biggest came from the way L.G. lived as a Christian leader at home and at school. He was disciplined, lived what he believed and expected his players to carry that same discipline.
That influence reached the whole family. Cooper said his sister, Linda, and his brother, Butch, also became teachers and coaches because of the mark their father left on their lives.
Some of Cooper’s favorite memories came in the summer, when he and his dad went fishing together and L.G. often led the family in devotionals. Those moments let Cooper see his father away from the pressure of the sidelines.
The L.G. Henderson Fieldhouse now bears his father’s name. Bulldog Bowl, New Mexico’s most famous prep venue, was built during L.G. Henderson’s time as Artesia’s head coach, and his success in the 1960s helped establish the foundation of the Bulldogs’ powerhouse program.
Cooper Henderson and his family were inducted into the NMHSCA on Friday night.
“My mom, Fid, had an influence on me as well,” Cooper said. “She was very supportive of what he was doing.”
Cooper never coached with his dad, but L.G. still came to practices and watched his son win several state championships.
Playing and coaching career
Cooper played football at Eastern New Mexico University for two years and graduated in 1977. He began his coaching career at Portales, spending two years as head freshman coach and varsity receivers coach. He then coached at Perryton High School in Texas before taking an assistant job at Amarillo High, where he coached receivers and tight ends in the Wing-T offense.
He liked Amarillo and asked head coach Larry Dippel whether he might eventually have a chance to take over when Dippel retired. Dippel could not answer and sent him to the Amarillo schools’ athletic director. The answer was short: “No, we won’t.”
“I started applying for jobs in a lot of small towns,” Henderson said. “It ended up that Ruidoso came open, and there were some people there who had ties to my college and old mentors. Ruidoso was the first place that offered me a head coaching job.”
Family
Ruidoso had won only one game in two years. Cooper figured it could not get much worse — and believed it could get a lot better.
Through every move and every season, Henderson said the greatest thing that ever happened to him was marrying his college sweetheart, Judy (Visscher)Henderson, whom he met at ENMU.
“She made a difference in my coaching career,” Henderson said. “She was at every game. Our kids were raised by her and kept involved, and they were always excited about me coaching and excited about what I was doing.”
The couple has two children: Bryan Henderson, 43, an Artesia graduate and lawyer in Dallas, Texas; and Britni Ridolfi, also an Artesia graduate, who works for the San Antonio Spurs.
After Henderson retired, Artesia named the practice field after him.
“I feel that is a real honor,” Henderson said. “To me, that is where teams are made, right there on the practice field. That is where you get to know each other and, day by day, learn the things that sports are about. That really meant a lot to me, and I appreciate coach Jeremy Maupin and all the people at the school who made that possible.”
Help
Cooper said he was blessed with strong support from assistant coaches, administrators and Mike Phipps, who won seven state championships as a coach and later served as athletic director and superintendent of Artesia Public Schools during Cooper’s career.
Quarterback Club
One of the significant pieces of Artesia’s success, Cooper said, was the Quarterback Club. It was never just about football. It was about helping young people grow up, compete well, and succeed in life.
“The whole time I was the head football coach, Raye Miller was the head of our Quarterback Club,” Cooper said. “That group is a huge part of our success in Artesia, and they are all looking for good things out of our young people.”
“That is the real essence of being successful,” Cooper said. “Having people want to reach the same goals. I was fortunate to have great assistant coaches and the Quarterback Club.”
On retirement
Cooper said he never planned to retire when he did. Five coaches on staff could have taken over, and his priority was making sure the program stayed strong for the next coach. He knew Artesia had excellent coaches and players coming, and he wanted the Bulldogs to keep winning the right way.
“I was really pleased that the school hired assistant coach Rex Henderson,” Cooper said. “And then I was pleased to hire former player and assistant coach Jeremy Maupin.”
Molding young athletes
One model Cooper tried to emulate was former UCLA basketball coach John Wooden’s Pyramid of Success.
“I changed some aspects of the Wooden pyramid to fit our program,” Cooper said. “We talked about those things year-round. It is about young people taking the qualities they learned, along with what their families taught them, and using them to be successful in life—at work, in marriage, or as parents. I hope some of those qualities I tried to instill in our former players made their lives a little better.”
Cooper stepped down as Artesia’s head coach in 2016 and continued to serve as the school’s athletic director until 2023. As recently as a couple of years ago, he still had a hand in coaching, working with the Bulldog sophomores.
He remains a familiar and popular presence around Artesia.
A long wait
As for why L.G. Henderson, who guided the Bulldogs to five titles in the 1960s and died in 2012, was not already in the Hall of Honor, the reason was simple: the NMHSCA recently adjusted its induction criteria. L.G. previously did not meet the minimum 20 years of service or membership required for eligibility. Once that changed, the obstacle was gone.
Both Hendersons were already members of the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Now, together in the NMHSCA Hall of Honor, L.G. and Cooper Henderson stand where their careers always placed them — at the heart of New Mexico high school football history.