STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School boys and girls soccer teams have had to navigate a learning curve with new coaches.
Former Yellow Jacket boys tennis coach Rob Fyke took over as the boys soccer coach, while Patrick Barton assumed the role as the girls coach in the offseason after serving as the assistant coach.
Looking at previous seasons, Fyke is happy with where his team stands, while Barton feels like his squad is right where it should be. Both teams play at Madison Central (5:30 p.m. girls; 7 p.m. boys) today in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class (MHSAA) Class 6A, Region 3 game.
“It appears we have improved on the position the team was in last year,” Fyke said. “I want to win every single game, so there’s been some disappointments. However, it’s gone well. We’ve progressed as a team.”
Starkville lost to Madison Central in the first matchup of the season last month. The other three losses have come to St. Andrews and to Amory twice.
Fyke feels like he has a senior nucleus that has helped him make the transition. He credits Vance Dewberry, who leads the squad with 20 goals, Rylan Moore, who will play in the Baptist Rehab Services Mississippi Association of Coaches All-Star Soccer game, Hudson Matheny, who signed with Jones County Junior College, Lake Spradling, goalie Wesley Albritton, and Craig Ruff for helping the team stay together and be successful midway through the season.
Fyke said the biggest challenge of taking over has been learning the different personalities of his players and what makes them tick, but he feels like he has a good bunch.
“The kids are very respectful, they have great manners, their parental upbringing was very good, so I don’t have to deal with many discipline issues or respect issues,” Fyke said. “For me, it’s just learning the players and how to put them in the best position to have success.”
Although Fyke spent several seasons coaching the Yellow Jacket tennis team, he has a background in soccer. He played at Clinton High, where he won two state championships, and then played at Hinds Community College. He then attended Mississippi State, where he played on the club team.
Fyke spent five seasons as a coach at Clinton High (2006-10), where he won two state championships. He then came to Starkville High, but he decided to step away from coaching to start a family. Fyke has been out of coaching for the last two seasons, but when Brian Bennett stepped away, Fyke decided to apply for the job.
“I love the competition,” Fyke said. “I’ve always had the desire to get back in it, but my life the past two years just hasn’t been conducive time-wise to get out there and do it. When this opportunity presented itself, I jumped at it.”
Barton’s girls team is 6-2-1. He said they are playing in the one of the state’s toughest districts with Callaway, Madison Central, and Northwest Rankin. Madison Central (7-0-1) is No. 5 in the USA Today Region II (Louisiana and Mississippi) poll, while Northwest Ranking (14-1-1) is No. 10. He said he knew it was going to be a “dog fight” to get into the playoffs, but he has liked how his team has progressed and said it is still in contention to make the playoffs.
Barton said the toughest challenge is getting over the normal expectations of the program.
“We know we have the hardest district and the chances of us getting out into the playoffs traditionally hasn’t been great, but getting the girls on board to thinking, ‘Hey, on any given night, any team can beat any team and it’s the team that works the hardest that puts themselves in position to win those types of games,’ ” Barton said. “Not that we didn’t have that before, but we definitely are firing on all cylinders.”
Making the transition from assistant to head coach has opened Barton’s eyes.
“There’s definitely a lot more riding on your shoulders as far as expectations-wise,” Barton said. “I have no problem dealing with pressure. I knew coming into this that it’s a very, very tough job with our district but our girls have been great this year. If they hadn’t bought in, we would have had a much longer, more difficult season.”
Barton lost his top goal scorer in Addison Gordon before district play started. Gordon moved to Dallas, which left a hole in the lineup. Barton had to make some changes, but he feels Anne Marie Ross, Rainey Wells, Emily Cartwright, Harper Laird, and Angela Ross have stepped up and helped fill the gap. He said the Lady Yellow Jackets have been emphasizing the team aspect.
“You can’t really replace her, but the girls that we’ve had step in have played well,” Barton said. “Karlie Brooks, an eighth-grader, has had to step up, and she’s played well.”
Barton feels like the Lady Yellow Jackets have the best goalkeeper in the state in Cameron Dawkins.
Fyke and Barton are getting used to being head coaches and getting an understanding of their teams. For Fyke, the season has had some peaks and valleys, but he feels like the peaks have been very good.
“It was up and down as far as wins and losses, but we have competed in every single game we’ve played in, dominated some of the games and proven that we can play with the best teams in the state,” Fyke 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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