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Crossville coaching staff nearly full

By Lew Gilliland
The Times-Journal

Published July 16, 2010

The Crossville High School athletic coaching staff isn’t back to full strength, but it’s getting close.

The DeKalb County Board of Education hired several teachers Thursday night who will have coaching duties at Crossville, which saw its coaching staff decimated by resignations and non-renewals last spring.

Among those getting board approval were Randy Surrett and William Chandler, who will serve as assistants to Crossville head football coach Bill Smith.

Surrett was head coach at Model High School in Rome, Ga., last season and is also a former head coach at St. Clair County.

Chandler spent nine years coaching at White Plains.

Smith said Surrett will coach linebackers, while Chandler will help defensive coordinator Danny Smith coach the D-line.

Former Crossville standout and Shorter College player Miles Holcomb was hired last month and will coach the offensive line, Smith said. Will Brock, another former Crossville standout and a holdover from the 2009 staff, will coach the wide receivers.

“I’m excited about it,” Smith said of his staff. “I feel like that the additions that we’ve made are going to really help us both short term and long term. We’ve got a mix of youth and energy and experience and knowledge.

Magon McAnelly, who coached the volleyball team last season but was non-renewed this spring, was rehired by the board Thursday and will resume her volleyball duties.

The board also approved Christie White’s hiring. She will take over as girls’ golf coach.

Also, Crossville principal David Uptain said that Crossville Elementary assistant principal Tony Bright will take over as head baseball coach. Bright, a former player at Crossville and Gadsden State, will be assisted by Holcomb.

“I think it’s going to be a very, very good staff in all sports,” Uptain said. “I think we’re going to end up filling all our needs, and I think we’re going to be stronger in all our sports.

“We’re real excited to be able to get the people we’re going to get and the people who were willing to step up.”

Uptain still has some vacancies to fill, including head coaching slots for the boys’ and girls’ soccer teams, but he doesn’t think that process will be stretched out.

“We’ll probably have everything ironed out in the next week or so,” he said.

GERALDINE: Geraldine had two members of its 2009-10 basketball staff rehired Thursday.

Tyler Brooks and Joey Rowell both worked with the boys’ basketball program, and both are expected to contribute again next winter.

Varsity head coach Cale Black said Rowell will probably coach the junior varsity boys, while Brooks is likely to coach the seventh and eighth-grade teams.

PLAINVIEW: The board also approved John Tyler Clark as a volunteer assistant football coach at Plainview.

—Shannon J. Allen of Southern Newspapers contributed to this story.

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