A host of new fall sports coaches are kicking off their first seasons at the helm this year in Hawkins County. Many of them are familiar faces in new places.
HIGH SCHOOL
Longtime assistant coach Mike "Pops" Castle steps in as the interim head football coach at Volunteer.
Castle takes over for Jesse McMillan, who resigned June 17 to accept an assistant coaching and teaching position at Dobyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport.
Castle came to Church Hill from Twin Springs High School in Nickelsville, Virginia, in 2015. Since he arrived at Volunteer, he’s served as an assistant football coach, an assistant baseball coach and the head baseball coach (2019-2021). Prior to coming to Volunteer, Castle was an assistant football coach on championship teams at Gate City High School before taking a job at Twin Springs.
His Volunteer coaching staff includes Jeremy Sommers, Wes Bowery, Josh Kincannon, Josh Sawyer, Jackie Strickler and former Church Hill Middle School head coach Jeremy Jones, who formalized his role at the high school this year. Strickler, the veteran coach of the Lady Falcons' softball program, is back on the football sidelines for the first time in a decade.
In addition to fall coaching changes in football, the Falcons have new head coaches in cross country (Lauren Garrison and Daniel Greene), girls soccer (Mitchell Magill) and cheer (Samantha Allen with assistants Laycie Cunningham and Mary Elliott).
The volleyball team, led by Nora Barton, has also added alumnus Sydney Allen to the staff as an assistant coach.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
Church Hill native Matthew Kinkead is in his first year as head football coach at Rogersville Middle School.
Kinkead replaced Matt Seals, who has formalized his role as an assistant football coach at Cherokee High School. Kinkead, who also serves as head coach in boys soccer at RMS, assisted Seals in football last season. Seals is still the athletic director at RMS.
Aaron Woods and Adam Gilman are now the assistant football coaches at RMS.
In addition, Madison Ringley has taken over as the RMS cheer coach.
Adam Hagood, another former Panther and a former assistant coach for the RMS Warriors, has taken over as head coach of the Church Hill Middle School football program this season. Technically, Hagood replaces Bryant Hill who resigned his position in July to accept a position at West Ridge High School. Hill had been named Church Hill's head coach earlier this year, replacing Jeremy Jones. Like Seals at Cherokee, Jones formalized his role as an assistant football coach at Volunteer.
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