WEATHERFORD —
It is a part of the job and a fact of life for high school athletic directors every summer, assuring sports played at their respective schools are adequately staffed.
Coaching for a living, in most cases, carries with it the same potential desire as any other job, to further one’s career as best they can. Sometimes this means climbing within ranks at a single school district, but just as often, it means being mobile, seeking opportunities in other venues.
Weatherford Athletic Director Phillip O’Neal again turned his attentions to this responsibility, as he has done before, and while the coach retention was an overall positive, he did have to address a significant replacement to contend with.
“We didn’t have a ton of turnover [of our coaching staff], which is good,” O’Neal said. “Of course, as we are all aware, with Coach [Kenny] Wheaton leaving, Coach [Reid] Waller becoming the head football coach and we’re both fortunate and excited about that.
“Coach Waller has played a very significant role in all of the program changes that have taken place in the past couple of years, significant in that I really see the enhancement and growth of the program continuing in the future.”
O’Neal has been impressed with Waller, who came to Weatherford three years ago, not only for his acumen as a defensive coordinator, but more so with his work ethic and approach to Weatherford student-athletes.
“He’s just a real classy, quality individual who has the kids foremost in his thoughts,” he said. “You just cannot ask for anything more from a coach. And we think we have been able to put a staff together that feels the same way and I’m thrilled about that.
“We almost lost Coach Waller. He had an opportunity to take another job in another district. He decided not to do that and it worked out to be our gain.”
In putting the rest of the coaching pieces together, O’Neal feels fortunate the number of assignments he had to address during the summer break was relatively modest. He attributes the small turnover to the community and the school district as attractive mainstays.
“Weatherford is good place to be and our school district’s reputation in the education realm is very good,” he said. “For the most part, people come here and stay and we’re very fortunate in that regard.”
Peripheral changes for the football program were necessary as a result of Wheaton’s exit. Coaches Joey Wilson and Greg Gibson became Co-Offensive Coordinators. Gibson was already in the coordinator’s role last year.
Coach Waller will head up and oversee the whole team, but will still have a big hand in the defense, as he’s done in the past.
“We had two coaches who had to be replaced,” said O’Neal. “John Hansen left us to take a job in Arlington. We’re really going to miss John, he did a great job for us while he was here.
“Then, to replace Coach Wheaton’s spot, we hired a young man named John King. His home town is Ballinger, where he played quarterback and made high school all-star teams. He always wanted to play at Texas Tech, so he walked on and played a couple of years of football there. John comes to us as a first-year coach after graduating from Tech.”
Another new face on the gridiron will be Matt Hamilton, who played football at Hardin-Simmons, and will be coaching the Roos’ cornerback corps.
Weatherford also has a new face in the athletic trainers staff, replacing Les “Doc” Bradley, who retired after more than 30 years in the Weatherford ISD.
“We hired a young lady, Stephanie Martin, to replace Doc, said O’Neal. “She comes to us from a very reputable program in Iowa, though she originally is a Texan.
“We are very happy to have Stephanie, and excited to have a lady in that role. We think our female athletes may be a little more comfortable working with a lady in that position.”
Martin does not come to Weatherford alone, her husband assumed the trainer’s role at Weatherford College.
O’Neal is confident the consistency of the coaching staff reaps benefits for the district, and particularly the kids.
“Across the board, the consistency of our coaching staff has been good,” he said. “It definitely helps the kids, because they know what to expect.
The WISD AD sees tangible benefits from the perpetuation of coach and student relationships from year to year.
“While we go through growing pains of being a small 5A school in a district with much bigger schools,” he said, “our kids and coaches are going through this together and I think that’s another reason the consistency is so important for success.
“And I think we are progressing in that arena and becoming more competitive. As an example, I would argue that no one in our district played Abilene, last year’s 5A state football champions, a better game than Weatherford.
“The thing I took away from that game is that our kids were genuinely upset about losing that game, and not happy just because they played them close. It’s part of the growing process to help us get where we want to go in all of our athletics."
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