Pioneers prepare for spring drills with several coaching vacancies
The Pioneer football team will be springing into action with a skeleton crew at the helm this week.
Spring practice for the 2008 squad opens Monday at WCHS, but several departures from the coaching staff, as well as others busy with other sports, will mean head coach Chris Madewell and his remaining staffers will definitely have their hands full.
‘I’m looking to get a little help from (WCMS assistant coach Devin) Rackley where I can, and I’ve had some others say they might help us, but nothing is definite,’ Madewell said last week. ‘We’ll be busy as coaches, with more guys per coach than we’re used to, but we’ll get it taken care of one way or another.’
Madewell will be joined during spring drills by freshman head coach/varsity assistant Andy Evans, as well as assistant coach Jeff Lee. Assistants Jeff Watson and Jerry Martin are expected be back in the fold once they are finished with their duties with the WCMS and WCHS baseball teams, respectively.
The other vacancies on the WCHS staff came in recent days, when defensive coordinator Todd Willmore and line coach Matt Turner opted to leave the staff.
Willmore will not be able to work with the football team this fall, as he will be busy as the new head coach of the Lady Pioneer soccer team, replacing interim coach Matt Jackson, who finished out last year in place of Keith Hamilton.
‘This opportunity came along, and I decided to go for it. I really wanted to see someone in there who had a passion for the game, and wanted to make this team their No. 1 priority,’ said Willmore, who is currently serving as Jackson’s assistant with the boys’ soccer team.
‘(Jackson) did a good job, and so did Keith, and I don’t want to take anything away from what they did. But I know it’s a lot of hard work, especially for someone who is busy with another team or a full-time job for part of the year. I have my own kind of selfish reason, too, in that both of my girls are soccer players. So this will be a great chance to watch and coach them, and I’m looking forward to getting started.’
Turner, who served as the middle school head coach before returning to the varsity team two seasons ago, informed Madewell just over a week ago that he would not be able to return to the staff, as other professional and family obligations will be taking up his time.
‘He had talked with me about how he had struggled with deciding what to do, but in our last conversation I thought he was going to be able to help with the team,’ Madewell said. ‘So it came as a shock when I found out he wouldn’t be back. But his dad needs his help full-time, and I certainly can’t blame him for that.’
As for potential replacements on the coaching staff, Madewell said the interview process is ongoing, but has yet to yield many viable prospects.
‘It’s definitely not easy to get an assistant coach to come in,’ he said, ‘but finding a coordinator is especially tough. But I’ve got some people here that can do the defensive coordinator job if I can’t find anybody else, and I’m going to be handling the offense. So we’ll make it work, even if it means putting in more time than we normally would with a full staff, and we’ll get this team ready for fall.’
Spring drills are planned to continue through May 9, culminating in a scrimmage against Cleveland High School.