Bryan Loague has faced Hamilton High School enough times in softball to know about the program”s tradition.
That”s why Loague didn”t waste any time once he learned slow-pitch assistant coach and fast-pitch coach Jason Cobb was stepping down to take another job outside of the school.
“It took about three hours,” Loague said earlier this week. “I got (Hamilton High School Principal) Mr. (Tim) Dickerson”s home number that afternoon, called him that night, and interviewed the next day.”
Shortly thereafter, Loague was on the fast track to becoming Hamilton”s High next head coach. On Tuesday, the Monroe County School Board approved Loague”s hiring.
“Why would you not want to go to Hamilton?” Loague said when asked why he was interested in the job. “It is one of the most successful programs in the state.”
Loague, who spent the past nine years as head coach of the slow- and fast-pitch softball programs at Mantachie High, said he heard from another coach that the positions at Hamilton High were open after Cobb”s departure. Loague didn”t know the jobs were open, but he knew Cobb was examining other possibilities and that his positions at the school could come open.
Loague will be a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) teacher for ninth-graders. His teams at Mantachie High won four fast-pitch division championships and two slow-pitch division titles. His teams also plays for two state titles in slow pitch and for a North Half title in fast pitch in 2006 (lost to Eupora).
Hamilton has had similar success in Class 2A of the Mississippi High School Activities Association. The slow-pitch team won the state title in 2009. The school”s fast-pitch squads also were fixtures in the North Half despite falling short of the state tournament.
Cobb helped establish Hamilton High as one of the state”s top fast-pitch programs. He spent the past five years as an assistant coach to Lewis Earnest with Hamilton”s slow-pitch team.
The success of both programs is the primary reason Loague wanted the jobs.
“It is awesome. In the past five to six years in 2A they have always been a program to beat every year,” Loague said. “They have some of the best facilities around. It is kind of intimidating to go through Hamilton sometimes to play.”
Dickerson is in his first year as principal at Hamilton High after serving in the same capacity at the Advanced Learning Center in Becker. He said Loague”s experience was key because he was looking for someone who could step in and take over an established program like the fast-pitch team. Dickerson said he talked to two or three other applicants and wanted to hire a qualified candidate as quickly as possible considering the slow-pitch season starts Friday.
Due to the tornado that ripped through Smithville in April, Monroe County schools won”t open until Aug. 15.
Loague envisions using a similar coaching style to Cobb. He said he talked with Cobb several times about the position and feels he will be able to work well with Earnest, too, and make a smooth transition into both jobs.
“I think (knowing Cobb and Earnest) will help,” Loague said. “They already told me a lot of stuff outsiders don”t know about the program. There”s always pressure whenever you step in. I always felt coach Cobb was one of the best coaches around, so there is pressure to step up and produce the same or better results.”
Loague said he will be flexible in how his teams accomplish that goal. He said small schools can”t afford to stick to one style of play, and that he will tailor the style of play his teams use to their strengths.
One thing will remain the same about his teams, Loague said.
“We”re always going to work hard, we”re never going to give up, and we”re never going to be out of a ballgame,” Loague said.
Loague, who is from Fulton, served as an assistant baseball coach at Houlka before going to Mantachie. He graduated from Itawamba Agricultural School, spent two years at Itawamba Community College, and then received a degree in secondary education from Mississippi State.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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