Poole to pull double duty as coach, principal

By Staff, 06/2/17 2:36 PM

PRESCOTT – When school starts on Aug. 14, Prescott High School will have a new principal – Head Coach and Athletic Director Tommy Poole.

The Prescott School Board, in a special meeting held May 9, voted to hire Poole to replace outgoing principal Missy Walley. Poole will remain head coach and AD as well as assuming the duties of principal at PHS.

“This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” Poole said Friday morning. He said there are positions in the district that have been revolving doors because those hired had no ties to Prescott. “I wanted to do this later on, but the opportunity came up now and I figured if not now, when.”

He asked to remain as head coach because his son will be a sophomore at PHS this year and he wants to coach him until he graduates. The board agreed and will allow him to hold both positions. At the end of three years, he said, he plans on stepping down as coach and AD and simply being the principal at PHS.

“I’ll try to do what’s best for PHS. It’s hard to develop a good culture in the district with the turnover in lead positions. It’ll be tough, but the football program is at a point where it can almost be run by the players.” He said the assistant coaches and players know the routines that will be run on any given days, so if he isn’t there the Wolves won’t miss a step. In fact, he said, the players could do the drills if no coaches were on hand, with the seniors leading the younger players.

Poole said he’s going to have to practice what he preaches to the players. He tells them to be students in class and athletes on the field. Now, he added, he’ll have to be a principal during the school day and coach when practice begins.

He’s had his principal certification since 2005, but was waiting for the right time to make the jump from coaching to administration. While it’s a partial jump at best, he said this was the right time for him to move into administration. In fact, he said he’ll be content as PHS principal and plans on retiring from that position, having no desire to go elsewhere to be a superintendent.

“I don’t want to go anywhere else,” he said. “I have too much pride in Prescott and care for it too much. I want to make PHS the best it can be, and the same goes for the district. I want Prescott to be a better place.” Poole added everyone, regardless of where they live, need to work to make their communities a better place for everyone.

There will be some changes when it comes to discipline, he said, but isn’t sure what they’ll be. He said Walley was a good principal and did a lot of good things while she was here.