The search for a new football coach at Russell County High School continues with a new coach expected to be announced next month.
Coach Ryan Richardson’s resignation left a void in the top spot of the Laker Football program, and now a committee will meet at the beginning of the year to determine who will take over as head coach.
Russell County High School Principal Shanna Tarter says the committee plans to move swiftly to get a coach in place for spring workouts and offseason strength training. The holidays put a pause on things temporarily, but Tarter said the committee plans to move forward as soon as school starts back.
“Within the first two weeks of us getting back, we should be naming a head coach,” Tarter said. “I think we will do it relatively quickly. We want to do it as quickly as we can in order to get ready for spring workouts and weight training and all the other offseason activities.”
Seven candidates have applied for the job, Tarter said.
“We have a pretty healthy pool of applicants,” Tarter said. “I was excited to see those. Right now, we have seven applicants, so we will be getting the committee together to go through those applications and set up interviews and go from there.”
The committee tasked with hiring a coach will include Tarter, RCHS Athletics Director Michael Carpenter, a community stakeholder, a site-based member, and parent representatives.
A challenge exists for the next coach, as the Lakers are coming off a 2-9 season and lose a large amount of production on both sides of the ball from last season.
The Lakers will look to replace their leading passer, top two rushers, and top five receivers on offense. Defensively, the Lakers expect to return several key players, but lose Gage Hicks who led the team with 6 interceptions this past season and was third on the team in tackles.
Tarter said it’s important that the next coach understands the importance of instilling integrity into the players and has a plan to build the program back.
“It starts with looking at our youth league programs and going all the way up, and getting kids involved with football,” Tarter said. “It’s a physical sport and takes a lot of practice and a lot of skill building at those young ages. We’re also looking for someone to be a role model who can teach these players to have character on and off the field.”
