Mike Wright
Doug Gloyd
Curtis Higgins
“I’m not interested in the position,” Gloyd said. “I’ve got a two-year old son at home and it’s entirely too time consuming, that’s why I got out of coaching. I wanted the position, but on an interim basis and that’s what I’ve got right now. I’m not willing to sacrifice time with my family for the position.”
Superintendent Tim McGinnis says there are currently no candidates up for the position, but after reviewing the job description, will review all possible routes to filling the void.
“I’m not sure at this time that we have anyone with an interest,” McGinnis. “We hope to interview and have somebody by the end of March or first of April. Taylor (Sparks) did retire from his teaching duties and came back as a part time employee as the Athletic Director. I haven’t really had a conversation with Principal (Chad) Pruitt about whether or not we have a preference in which way we go. Do we want a halftime teacher, halftime athletic director or are there any candidates out there similar to Taylor’s situation, where someone can come back and work on a part-time basis. That person may or may not be there, but as far as having anyone lined up or having a front runner, there’s no one in mind.”
McGinnis says Gloyd was a convenient fit and claims looking to current employees to fill the position will be his first pool of candidates.
“We chose Doug Gloyd because we felt it would be less disruptive for him to assume those responsibilities on an interim basis as an assistant principal,” McGinnis said. “I don’t think Doug would be interested but we may explore the possibility of adding those responsibilities to one of our assistant principals or some other position. We are not locked in to any one approach to filling the vacancy. We always like to look internally first and see if there is anyone and if it’s something that can work into a schedule without disrupting student achievement or there may be a retiree that would be interested who has tremendous experience that may like to come back in a situation like Taylor had. I don’t know that person, but I’m not going to exclude that type of candidate.”
After Gloyd, next in line for consideration could be Assistant Athletic Director and head Football Coach Curtis Higgins.
“I don’t know that there is an ideal situation with that,” Higgins said. “At this time in my career I don’t know if that’s the direction I want to go in. I don’t think I’m even a consideration for that. I think a lot of the news media would think I’m a candidate because I’m the assistant Athletic Director, but that’s not the case, I’m not sure there is an ideal situation. As of now, I’m strictly the head Football Coach and Assistant Athletic Director, that’s it.”
In thinking of whom Trigg could call out of retirement, former A.D. Jim Wallace could be considered, but the grizzled veteran is far from interested in returning to the helm of TCHS sports.
“I’m really not that interested in doing anything on a full-time basis, they call it a part-time job, but really it’s a full-time job if you do really what needs to be done. In my situation in retirement and some of the things my wife and I do like traveling, I just don’t see myself, at this stage of my life getting that much more involved. I like being involved but I like having my cake and eating it too. But the ideal situation would be if you had time to do all of what needed to be done to, to maintain the athletic program and take it forward. It is so time consuming, I don’t think people realize all of the different after school activities, scheduling, hiring of coaches, getting position filled and maintaining a certain level of moral throughout your athletic program.”
Possibly the most qualified current Trigg County Schools employee for the position is actually quite interested in the job in current Middle School Boys Basketball Coach Mike Wright. Wright, who has a tremendous resume of coaching experience, has coached boys basketball, girls basketball, tennis, football, baseball and cross-country (22 years).
Wright is in his 24th year of coaching at Trigg County and his 26th overall, coaching for two years in Bowling Green while attending Western Kentucky.
“I think that it’s almost like a lot of the things in my life have prepared me for that a little bit. I think I’ve got a lot of experience and knowledge about what it takes so I do have some interest because I love Trigg County and I bleed black and white.”
Despite the interest, Wright has yet to apply or even inquire about the position until the job description is set.
“I’m interested but I’ve not gone as far as to submit my resume and it depend on what exactly the job description is, because it is a massive job if done correctly,” Wright said. “I’m not looking to get out of the classroom. I love my social studies classroom and the kids, it would just depend on a lot of things. But as far as the position itself and what it requires, representing Trigg County and monitoring the athletic program does interest me.”
Despite being comfortable in his current role, Wright says Trigg Countians have mentioned the idea to him.
“I need to look into it further and explore the possibilities,” Wright said. “I have had several people in the community who have spoke to me about it, but people in the community don’t make that decision, it’s people in the school system who make that decision.
To read the conclusion of this story, pick up the latest issue of The Cadiz Record.
