STARKVILLE — Milton Smith is excited about the job he has in front of him.
A 1986 graduate of Starkville High School, Smith just finished his first year as athletic director for the Yellow Jackets. Now he gets the chance to do one of the most important duties of an athletic director: hire a coach.
He will not only have to hire one coach but three, with volleyball and boys and girls soccer having coaching vacancies. Volleyball coach Lauren Love is moving to Tennessee, boys soccer coach Brian Bennett is stepping down to spend more time with family and girls soccer coach Amanda Lee took a job in Alabama.
“I’m pretty excited because I really get to put my stamp on it right now, get a chance to hopefully make the home run hires and improve on what we’ve already started here,” Smith said.
Love will follow her husband to the University of Tennessee. Dr. Adam Love was a professor and advisor in the Department of Kinesiology at Mississippi State University. Coach Love took over the Jacket program in 2009 and spent seven seasons developing the program into one of the best in north Mississippi.
She started a middle school program and a developmental league at the Starkville SportsPlex for girls in fourth- through eighth-grade.
“I really felt a part of the Starkville community and being a part of the Yellow Jacket family,” Love said. “I’m just so thankful to all the parents, all the student-athletes, the administrators and the full staff who were so supportive of our program to really help build the program and help it grow. I’m just so thankful for the opportunity and for everyone because there’s so many people involved that made it the program that it is today.”
Bennett, who coached the East Mississippi Community College men’s and women’s programs, led Starkville to the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A State championship in 2012. Former girls soccer coach Anna Albritton stepped down before the 2015-16 season started to watch her son, Wesley, play soccer in his final two seasons.
As a former coach, Smith, whose son Milton Smith Jr. played football and baseball for the Jackets this past school year, was very understanding.
“Coaching’s a very demanding job and a lot of times you find yourself missing your kids growing up,” Smith said.
Albritton, who coached soccer for nine seasons, said she also stepped aside because it was time and wanted to let someone younger and more energized to take over the program. Albritton coached the girls tennis team this spring for the sixth season and will do so next spring.
Smith doesn’t have any leading candidates because it is early in the process, but he has begun to put out some feelers and is reaching out to other athletic directors and coaches to see if they have recommendations.
“What we’re going for are young guys who have made an impression on some veteran coaches that may deserve a shot,” Smith said.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Ben Wait on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
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