Wade Tackett sees the potential at New Hope High School.
Tackett knows about the community’s support of its sports programs from his years as a coach at Grenada High. When he interviewed for the school’s football coach opening, Tackett saw the facilities, including a new field house, and a new school that is set to open for the 2018-19 school year.
Those ingredients are part of what drew Tackett to accept an offer to become the new football coach at New Hope High.
“I was intrigued,” Tackett said. “They have had a lot of support from the community, the booster club, the school administration, and all of that. Their facilities are top notch. They have a brand new school. The aesthetics are very pleasing. The potential is there. I don’t know if they have tapped into the potential as far as the athleticism goes.”
Tackett led Hollandale Simmons High to a 15-0 record and the 2017 Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 1A State championship. Under Tackett’s leadership, Simmons won its third-straight state title and extended its winning streak to 40 games. His hiring is expected to be placed on the agenda for the next Lowndes County School District meeting, which is scheduled for Friday, May, 11.
Tackett is expected to be at New Hope High on Monday to meet with the players and coaches.
If approved, Tackett will replace Kris Pickle, who went 24-23 in four seasons at the school. New Hope went 10-3 in his first season in 2014 and lost to Pearl in the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A playoffs. The Trojans missed the Class 5A postseason the next two seasons before moving down to Class 4A for the 2017 season following reclassification. New Hope lost to Pontotoc 6-3 in the first round of the playoffs. Last month, Pickle announced he was stepping away from coaching to spend more time with his family and to pursue other opportunities.
Tackett and his wife, Jessica, have two children, a son who is 2 years old, and a daughter who is three months old. He said he has in-laws who live in the Columbus/Caledonia area, which also played a role in his decision to accept the job. He said he also expects to teach at New Hope High in an undetermined capacity. He said he is certified in a numbers of areas and that he and New Hope Principal Matt Smith will decide where he is needed the most.
While a chance to be closer to one side of the family weighed on the decision, Tackett said New Hope’s tradition in a number of sports also was appealing. He feels the football program has everything it needs to be successful and that it will be his job and his coaching staff to help the players realize that potential.
“It was too good of an opportunity to pass up,” Tackett said. “When I stepped back and looked at the whole picture at New Hope and the Columbus area, I think it is a place I can put some roots into. The people I have met at the school already are wonderful people who I feel I will be able to become real good friends with, not just colleagues. It is an area I feel like is a place my family and I can thrive in.
“The football aspect of it is really intriguing because of the competition within our district with Noxubee County, Louisville, and Kosciusko even.”
Prior to working as head coach at Simmons, Tackett spent four years as offensive coordinator at Grenada High. He also has worked at Greenwood High and Northeast Lauderdale High. He said the decision to move back to a higher classification school wasn’t a big draw. He also worked as an assistant football coach for one season at Simmons before returning to the school.
“I am real humbled by this opportunity,” Tackett said. “I am real excited by this opportunity. I am going to ask the young men to work hard and to embrace the uncomfortable and to strive to get better every day. If we strive to get better every day special things will happen.”
Hollandale School District Superintendent Mario Willis played baseball in college and coached baseball, basketball, and softball at Simmons High, so he knows a little bit about what it takes to relate to student-athletes and to run programs. He praised Tackett’s efforts at Simmons High and his willingness to work in a number of areas to keep the football program moving forward.
“He did everything right here,” said Willis, who worked as principal at West Point High. “He worked with the community and they supported him. The kids supported him. I wish him nothing but the best. New Hope is getting a great guy. They should be honored to have him. I was honored to have him here.”
Willis said Tackett is a “bright guy” who is able to take the initiative and to make decisions without having to be told to do things. He also saw in Tackett a hunger and a drive to move up the ladder and to help student-athletes realize their full potential.
“He is focused and is a calculated and a calm coach,” Willis said. “He is a good coach. That is his style and it works for him. He is more of communicator and know how to get along with people. They got a good one. I am proud of him for getting an opportunity to go over there.”
Tackett agreed with Willis’ assessment and described himself as “laid back.” He also said he isn’t a coach who gets “high strung over much.” Tackett said he will fit his system to the personnel the Trojans will have for the 2018 season.
Prior to taking over at Simmons for the 2017 season, Tackett said he hoped to run a “multidimensional” attack. His offense benefited from the presence of players like Marquez Pam and Demarrius Turner, who played key roles in Simmons’ 22-20 victory against Nanih Waiya in December at Ole Miss’ Vaught-Hemingway Stadium that secured the program’s third-straight title.
“I am very organized, very focused, very career oriented, and very family oriented,” Tackett said. “I view a program as a family. I like the trust, the bonds, and the accountability and commitment to one another.”
Tackett said he didn’t know the root of that tenet to his coaching philosophy, but he surmised it comes from being close to his parents and his in-laws.
“I guess it is something that has been instilled on me at an early age,” Tackett said.
Tackett earned his bachelor’s and his master’s degrees in Education from Delta State.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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