Gentlemen, last year, you set a standard. When you see that state championship banner, you’re looking at what happens when a team commits to hard work and stays united. Eighteen seniors graduated, but they didn’t take the program’s success with them. They left a legacy for you to build on. Please read all sections of this newsletter .
As I enter my 36th season of coaching, people ask me if I ever get tired of it. The truth is, I feel just as excited for this season as I have for any other in my career. When I took the job at Southside I made the statement that I didn’t just want to build a team, I wanted to build a successful program. With the help of amazing assistant coaches, parents, grandparents, club coaches, and more importantly athletes of character, we have achieved that goal.
That excitement isn’t just about the chance to win another trophy. It comes from the opportunity to teach and coach you. My goal is to help you become winners on and off the field—and to be honest, who you are off the field is much more important to me than who you are on it.
Winning another Area Championship and returning to State won’t happen just because of what the team did last year. It will happen because of the effort you put into every practice and how you carry yourselves in the community. While many faiths, creeds, and religions are represented in this program, my challenge to you is not that you pray to God for wins, but instead pray for the ability to achieve at your highest level and to represent your team, school and family in a manner worthy of a person of faith. There are players of faith on every team, it is skill, preparation, dedication, and sometimes just plain luck that determines the outcome.
Success starts in the classroom. For the last three years (2023, 2024, and 2025), our soccer team has had the highest GPA of all team sports at Southside. All of our athletic teams at Southside excel in academics. That tradition needs to continue. People take you much more seriously when you take care of business in the classroom as well as on the field. When you show discipline in your studies, it proves you have the discipline to win on the pitch.
We are proud to represent two great cities: Rainbow City and Southside as well as adjacent county communities. These communities have stepped up for us over the last several seasons, and we intend to be responsible representatives every time we take the field. Whether we are at a home match or traveling, we represent our families and our neighbors. It is also important to attend and support others sports and activities at the school that has given us this support.
A lot of people are talking about who we lost, but the only thing that matters is who is here right now. While hard work is essential, caring is even more important. I’ve learned over 36 years that a player who truly cares about his team is far more effective than a talented player who doesn't. When you care about this program and the person standing next to you, the hard work becomes easy.
You aren’t playing in the shadow of last year’s team. You are standing on the foundation that they and the ones before them built—a foundation that includes 7 straight Area Championships (2019-2025) for a total of 9 titles (including 2004 and 2016), back-to-back Final Four appearances, and the 2025 State Championship.
The name Southside Soccer carries weight in Alabama, and it’s up to you to show everyone why. I am ready to get to work. Trust your coaches, trust each other, and most importantly, care about each other. The road back to the championship is wide open—let’s go out and take it together. I don’t believe in relying on gimmicks and slogans, let's continue to rely on each other.
Varsity
1 State Championship (2025)
2 Consecutive Final Four Appearances (2024, 2025)
9 Total Area Championships
7 Straight Titles: 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
Legacy Titles: 2004, 2016
3 Consecutive Years with the Highest GPA of all Southside Team Sports (2023, 2024, 2025)
2 Communities Represented: Rainbow City & Southside
Golden Goal Champions 2019, 2020, and 2021
2 Rainbow City Classic Titles
2 Etowah County Championships (2024 and 2025)
More players on All-State in the last 8 seasons than any other program.
12 players sign Scholarships over the last 8 years.
5 players make the state All Star Game teams over the last 5 seasons.
Gatorade State Player of the Year, 2025
State Coach of the Year for Large Schools 2025
Sub-Varsity
Two Lakeshore Classic Middle School and Freshmen Titles
Freshmen team won 44 games with 2 losses from 2022-2023
JV Clash on the Coosa Champions 2022 and 2023
The Golden Rule:
A player who cares is always more effective than one who has talent but not the mindset.