And he thought Second Act to Donna Johnson would be tough.

Try that and getting thrown out of your own gymnasium before ever playing a game.

Because that’s been the case for first-year Temple High School girls basketball coach Mike Kinney.

No, it’s not the ideal way to start or anything you want to hear before the season begins, but when it’s the federal government delivering the message, it’s usually best to listen.

After the high school’s gymnasium floor suffered water damage due to the September flood, the original plan was to redo the floor before basketball season.

That’s when another problem arose.

When they began tearing things out, something got stirred up in the air, leading to the Environmental Protection Agency shutting the gymnasium down.

Kinney and the Lady Tigers have been locked out of their own gym for roughly two weeks now.

“We can’t even get in there. We can’t get uniforms. Can’t get basketballs. We can’t practice. Can’t get into the weight room. Nothing. We’re totally locked out,” Kinney said.

The team has been practicing at the Temple Recreation Department, which means having to load the players up after school and drive over for practice every day.

As far as home games go, they will be played at the Temple Middle School until further notice.

Kinney said the earliest possible return to the high school would be after the Christmas holidays, but there is a possibility it will remain shut down the entire season.

“So we don’t have a homecourt right now,” Kinney said. “So it’s been a challenge so far.”

Like it hasn’t been tough enough, throw in the fact that Kinney is replacing Johnson, a Temple legend, and it’s a double-whammy.

“Oh, there are some big shoes to fill there,” Kinney said. “Donna has done such a great job here. Her and (assistant coach) Michael (Johnson) both have done a great job for the 20-plus years. It’s kind of intimidating to follow somebody up like that. It’s kind of like the old acts you see on TV when you have to follow somebody that had a good act ahead of you.”

The Lady Tigers lost four seniors from last season’s squad, including former Lady Tiger standout Gabrielle Jones, so the team will be young this season.

Center Celeste Lawson, forward Allie Acree and point guard Hannah Luke have been leading the way at practice thus far, and Kinney is hopeful some underclassmen will also be able to join the fray this year.

Kinney said the team has average talent with no standout players, so it’s going to have to make everything count on the court.

“We’re going to have to work on taking high-percentage shots and not committing turnovers. That’s going to have to be our strong point,” he said.

And in his 31st year at Temple, where he’s coached everything from track, softball, cross county to junior-varsity basketball, Kinney is finally taking his shot with the Lady Tigers.

Ironically, it was a job he applied for the same year Johnson did some 23 years ago.

“The decision was to go with her. And, obviously, she had a lot of ability,” Kinney said. “So I guess now it’s my turn. We’ll see what happens.”