Lewis named Fike AD while other WCS coaching changes unveiled

While he has been the varsity football head coach at Fike High since being announced as such in March, Rocky Lewis picked up some extra duties earlier this month when the Wilson County Board of Education confirmed his hiring as the ninth athletic director in Fike’s 67 years of existence.

Lewis, who had been the head football coach at South Brunswick, previously served as AD at his first high school coaching stop, 1-A East Columbus. He follows Tom Nelson, who was also his predecessor as Golden Demons football coach.

“I actually started teaching back in April, so I kind of got a brief introduction and got my feet wet a little bit, and got to know staff and and students and athletes and so not completely coming in raw, but it’s definitely a transition,” said Lewis. “I’m excited about it, just as we talked about with the whole football tradition, just the Fike tradition in itself. And I’ve met so many people who have gone to school here and get to hear their story of when they went to school here, and, you know, it was just 11th and 12th graders, and served the whole city.

“So, a lot of pride, a lot of tradition, and just honored and excited to be able to work with these coaches and these athletes and try and make it a little bit better.”

The others who have served as athletic director at Fike High were Paul Marklin, Gilbert Ferrell, Harvey Reid Jr., Eddie Summerlin, John Gay, Kim Brown and Toni Varacchi. Assistant principal Zach Temple handled those duties this spring after Nelson officially retired Dec. 31 while boys and girls golf coach Glenn Jones has functioned as assistant AD for several years. Lewis credited Varacchi for being extremely helpful as he has acclimated into his new work environment.

Lewis said that Fike will have a few more sports than was the case when he was AD at East Columbus 10 years ago, but he’ll also have more help.

“Well, the bonus of being at a bigger school, as opposed to when I was at East Columbus, is you have more helping hands,” said Lewis, “so you have to rely when you’re trying to balance coaching a sport and be an athletic director, you’ve got to be willing to ask for help. You got to be willing to delegate. You’ve got to be organized. And so during football season, I’ll be relying on a lot of people to help and pitch in. And I’d like to think that I have a strong work ethic, that I’m a hard worker, and so I’m willing to put in the time, put in the work,”

Lewis, who coached football at the collegiate level earlier in his career, comes to Wilson after eight years at South Brunswick in Southport. He was pleased to report that his wife, Jennifer, and daughters would soon be joining him in Wilson. Their son, Cole, is a rising senior at N.C. State University while daughters Paige and Claire will be a senior and a freshman, respectively, at Fike.

Lewis said he added two new members to the coaching staff: Roland Loftin, who will coaching running backs, and Paul Gibbons, a nonfaculty hire who worked with Lewis at South Brunswick.

Defensive coordinator Josh Jenkins, linebackers coach Andy Jenkins, Jordan Hemby and Mark Pittman are holdovers from Nelson’s staff last year that helped Fike clinch a share of the 3-A Quad County Conference title and win the Wilson County Championship.

WARRIORS ON THE MOVE

Hunt had the most changes to its staff, including two football staff additions from Fike. Cam Avery, a former Fike quarterback who coached quarterbacks — as well as track and field at wrestling — joins the staff of Warriors head coach Juan Jackson as the new offensive coordinator, replacing Mike Pittman.

Younger brother Josh Avery, also a former Fike quarterback and volunteer assistant coach, will come along in the same role at Hunt. Cam Avery will also coach in the Hunt weight room.

There will be seven new coaches for Hunt varsity teams this year, including Miguel Hall’s new dual role as wrestling and boys lacrosse head coach. Hall, a 1984 graduate of Hunt and a standout on the 1983 Warriors football team that was enshrined in the school’s athletic hall of fame in February, has been the Warriors softball coach for the past seven years.

Jackson, Hall’s former teammate and classmate, handed off the boys lacrosse duties so he could return to his other coaching passion — track and field.

Boys tennis coach Bentley Blount will add girls tennis in his second year at Hunt while Kim Jones, former Greene Central head coach and Barton College assistant coach, will take over softball duties from Hall. Jeff Kidd, who was the Hunt varsity softball coach nearly 20 years ago, is back as JV head coach.

Wendy Wilkins, the girls basketball coach at Springfield Middle, will lead the girls lacrosse team while former head coach Kat Alphin will be her assistant coach.

Alphin’s husband, Andrew Alphin, will get his first varsity head coaching assignment as the successor to outgoing girls basketball head coach Lorraine Creech. Andrew Alphin has been the Warriors junior varsity boys head coach and assistant coach for varsity boys mentor Dwight Taylor. Alisha Baines, the former girls basketball coach at Forest Hills Middle, will be Alphin’s assistant.

BRUINS MOVES

Another assistant coach taking the head coaching reins is Beddingfield’s Tonia Gear, who has been on varsity girls basketball head coach Jody O’Neal’s the staff the past few years. Gear is the former girls basketball coach at Speight Middle.

O’Neal, who is also the Beddingfield athletic director and boys golf coach, returns to the girls golf post he left when taking the girls basketball job in 2021.

Former Bruins boys soccer coach Mark Aldrich reprises that role as Ed Hunter will only coach girls soccer next spring after leading both programs for four years.

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