Greenville athletics has seen its share of problems over the last few years. Oh, I don’t mean all the teams, some have been very good and very competitive, like the boys and girls golf teams, the Track Teams, the tennis teams, and our Jr. High teams are pretty solid. I am talking about the big 4, the ones most of us watch the most: Football, Basketball, Softball, and Baseball. However, girls’ softball is in the big 4 group, but they have been excellent!
Most schools would die for what our young ladies do every year. They are the example of how to do it right! Outstanding coaching (is anyone better than Jerrod Newland?…….NO!), hard work year round, and a belief in the system. THAT is how it is done. Right now, I see a glimmer of hope for the other three……..and I feel good about where they are headed.
The Greenville Football program has been mostly dormant for a number of years now. I don’t think it was all coaching, but that had to have something to do with it. Finding the right fit for a program is hard, and failure is usually the result. But now, and I don’t know why, Greenville’s A.D. (who works as hard as anyone!) and the School Superintendent and Board seem to have made some good choices, in my opinion.
Coach Steve Channell is a proven program builder and a winner. His first year, winning 3 games with a new system, coaches, and a few players, was, to me, a very good year. This year, he has more players working out and new players coming in. He has a simple system of offense, has really good coaches, and he and his staff are teachers of the game. THAT is a winning system! Will they go 10-0? Probably not, but even if they only win four games and are competitive in the others, they are off to a great start for the program. Steve Channell was a great hire, and if we can keep him through better pay and support, Greenville will become a consistent winner.
I do not personally know Coach Tom Gibson, the man chosen to turn around a dismal basketball program. He married a girl from Greenville, Sarah Burns, a standout basketball player, so that connection here helps out. He takes over a program that was 11-81 the last 4 years……that’s atrocious!
At Fairlawn H.S., he took over a program that was 7-63 in three years, went 5-18 in his first year, and 11-12 in the 2025-2026 season. He believes, like Coach Channell, that keeping local talent here is key. We need to stop kids in the Greenville district from going elsewhere. But, in those kids’ defense, why stay where you lose all the time? That is changing, I believe. With his background in the military and law enforcement, hard work and discipline will be enacted. That is sorely needed! I think he looks like another great hire that we may want to keep!
Chad Henry was the second of the new coaches hired, and he was a great choice. Chad graduated from Greenville in 1996, has coached at many levels, has even umpired, and has played at Edison State. He went to Miami and got a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Degree in Civil engineering… he is smart…(however, I have stories……he is a little crazy!) In 2017, he took over the American Legion post 140 team, and in 2024, won the regional championship. As Greenville’s Freshman coach, he was 76-48 in five seasons. He knows how to win! He is an outstanding teacher, just like Coach Channell and Coach Gibson, and brings much-needed discipline to a team in need.
Four High School programs, Softball (the Gold Standard!), Football, Basketball, Baseball, now with coaches who can teach and win. We are in an era where Greenville will no longer be an afterthought in these sports and will be respected like our other programs in the system.
Yes, we are the smallest school in our conference, but to me, the size of the school only means you have more choices. However, in baseball, only nine can play at a time, in football, only 11, and in basketball, only five. Once you start winning, more and more athletes come out….and contribute to something they believe in.
I have seen it happen before. It does take effort, though, effort from the school leadership and the parents. It is a real team effort. So, School Board and Superintendent, you have made good hires; now support and PAY them… and that goes for our TEACHERS too. If we want to excel, we must be willing to give our students the best we can; anything less is cheating them.
We fire coaches all the time; we should do the same with teachers who do not measure up. School is a complete TEAM effort from all of us. We now have the coaches, the support from the fans is pretty good all the time, our school teachers do ok, so School Board, it is time for you to step up.
o what’s best for the students, KEEP THE GOOD PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN THE SYSTEM, PAY THEM, and purge those who don’t measure up! Sound harsh? Tell that to those of us who have worked for others before… You perform, or they find someone who will!
That’s the way I see it….from the sidelines!
