Change is usually unavoidable in coaching.
Kris Pickle has encountered plenty of it entering his fourth year as football coach at New Hope High School. The last four months have been some of the busiest of Pickle’s career, as the veteran coach had to replace virtually his entire coaching staff. In addition to shuffling responsibilities and duties with a group of new coaches, New Hope is preparing for the first year of the latest Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) reclassification that dropped New Hope from Class 5A, the state’s second-largest group, to Class 4A.
But Pickle said the new coaches have come together and jelled incredibly well as the team counts down to the start of the 2017-2018 school year next month.
“I have been surprised by the way everybody has gotten along,” Pickle said. “It seems like the staff, to be honest with you, meshes better than probably all of the staffs we have had here had other than the first year. The first year was the best staff in terms of meshing together and getting along and working together. This year seems like everybody is kind of on the same page and has the same philosophies and is working together and is getting along. That makes it easier.”
The latest coaching moves were finalized Monday at the Lowndes County School’s District’s regular board meeting. Jarred Garrett, who was a New Hope Junior High football coach and junior high baseball coach, resigned effective July 10. John Jennings, who was an assistant football coach for the high school team, resigned effective June 30. Garrett took the place of Tyler Poole on the school’s baseball coaching staff and will work full time with that team.
On June 30, the Lowndes County School District approved John Ethan Carter as an assistant football and varsity track and field coach, Ryan Deer as assistant football coach and varsity girls track and field coach, and Tim Nickens as defensive coordinator and assistant football and powerlifting coach. All appointments were effective July 3.
On June 9, assistant football coach Kyle Watson resigned as physical education teacher at New Hope Elementary School. Watson also worked as head boys and girls track and field coach.
Deer worked last season as an assistant football coach at Heritage Academy in Columbus. He took Watson’s place as a P.E. teacher at New Hope Elementary. His teaching position is effective Aug. 2.
On May 12, Carter replaced Kevin Edge as a history teacher at the high school. His teaching position is effective Aug. 2.
Nickens also was hired as a history teacher at the high school to replace Jonathan Cates, who was an assistant football coach and the powerlifting coach. Nickens will work as an assistant football coach.
On March 10, Ronald “Trac” Baughn resigned as history teacher at the high school. Baughn also served as defensive coordinator and girls track and field coach.
Cates is now coaching at Noxapater High, while Watson is the defensive coordinator at Lake High.
Pickle said Mike Mahoney and Rufus Warren also have left the coaching staff, which was trimmed to four full-time assistant coaches due to the move down to Class 4A. As a result, Pickle said the Trojans will have to rely more on volunteers to make up for the lost manpower. A year ago, Pickle said New Hope worked through a similar situation with volunteer coaches and other coaches who were compensated thanks to help from the booster club.
This season, Adam White, Tyler Neal, and Garrett Necaise will work with the junior high football program. Pickle said he promoted Hunter Williams from the junior high program to the varsity program.
Pickle said Mike Thorn, who has been with the program for going on three years, is the only holdover from the varsity coaching staff.
“(The coaching changes are) not really anything (that will affect) the kids because they are so resilient and they bounce back pretty quick,” Pickle said. ‘The hardest thing from a player’s standpoint is to get them to understand it is part of the business and people move on for various reasons and it is nothing personal to them.”
Pickle said it can be challenging running a program that needs so many coaches because it is hard to find quality people when those teachers-coaches have to fit into the openings that are remaining at the school. He said the Trojans adjusted to the coaching changes by making their ninth-grade players part of the junior varsity team. As a result, the freshmen won’t play a ninth-grade schedule.
Pickle said the Trojans won’t make many changes defensively with a new coordinator. He said terminology would be the biggest difference. He said he will continue to call the plays on offense, while Deer will work with him as offensive line coach.
New Hope finished 6-5 and 3-4 in Class 5A, Region 1 last season. It lost to West Point, Lake Cormorant, and Clarksdale — the top three teams in the region — and failed to advance to the playoffs for the second-consecutive season. New Hope went 3-8 in 2015 and 10-3 in 2014, which was Pickle’s first season as head coach at the school.
New Hope will join Noxubee County, Louisville, Kosciusko, and Leake Central in Class 4A, Region 4 this season. It replaces Caledonia in he region. Caledonia moved to Class 4A, Region 2 and will join Amory, Itawamba Agricultural, Mooreville, Pontotoc, and Shannon.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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