Senatobia Municipal School Districts own Shane Baltz was recognized for leadership last week by the Mississippi Excellence in Coaching Fellowship when the organization announced a new class of 25 exemplary leaders selected for fellowship that invests in the work of Mississippi’s best high school and middle school coaches.
Mississippi Excellence in Coaching Fellowship announced the 25 Coaches who have been selected for the 2023-24 class. The Coaching Fellowship, also known as Tomorrow’s 25, is hosted by the University of Mississippi School of Education in partnership with the Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) and the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA).
Its mission is to annually select and invest in 25 coaches from across the state who have been deemed an emerging leader in the area of high school and middle school athletics. All 25 candidates were identified by a selection committee and represent the best the state has to offer.
Final selections had to represent the values of the coaching fellowship – love of young people and a desire to develop them for life within the context of sports – and had to be diverse in gender, ethnicity, sport, and region of the state.
Serving on this year’s selection committee were Celeste Bramlett (Madison Central), Issac Boose (Oxford), Holly Moncrief (Brandon), Dr. Cheyenne Trussell (Meridian), and Averie Bush (Harrison County). Over the course of 10 months, Coaches will travel five times to the MAC/MHSAA’s headquarters in Clinton for in-person class, while the other five sessions are done virtually.
The goals for each session of the coaching fellowship are to assist in three areas of growth for each candidate:
1. Coaching the Whole Athlete (Leadership, Resilience, Empathy, and Responsibility) - Each participant will be able to implement all sessions’ materials at their current school and share with their colleagues.
2. Opportunity to network with 24 of their peers who have demonstrated the capacity to be our state’s future leaders in athletics.
3. Access to current leaders in the MHSAA, MAC, Higher Ed, College Athletics, and “potentially” Pro Athletics to learn how they can grow their spheres of influence in their communities and across the state.
The first session was held on Aug. 16, and the coaches are nearing their sixth-class session which will be held in Clinton on Jan. 31. This year’s class of coaches will officially finish the program in mid- May.
Called Tomorrow’s 25, the inaugural class members, their sports, and their schools are:
• Victoria Anglin, cheer, Petal School District
• Shane Baltz, track/cross country, Senatobia Municipal School District
• Allyson Brooks, volleyball, Ridgeland (Madison County Schools)
• Hawtin Buchanan, baseball; Biloxi Public School District
• Sanwaa Cooper, bowling/football, D'Iberville (Harrison County School District)
• Drew Crowell, baseball, Germantown (Madison County Schools)
• Lauren Dixon, basketball, Florence (Rankin County School District)
• Logan Dodson, football/powerlifting, Oxford School District
• Candace Foster, basketball, Murrah (Jackson Public Schools)
• Nick Griffin, football/AD, Perry County School District
• Fred Hampton, baseball, Lake (Scott County School District)
• Allyson Hancock, soccer, West Harrison (Harrison County School District)
• Eddie Ivory, football/basketball, Gentry (Sunflower County Consolidated School District)
• Brandon Jackson, football/powerlifting, Tupelo Public School District
• Caronica Debose Jackson, basketball, Hattiesburg Public School District
• Keisha Keyes, volleyball/tennis/AC, Gautier (Pascagoula-Gautier School District)
• Michael Lindsey, baseball, Meridian Public School District
• Candice Maloney, soccer/AAD, Northeast Lauderdale (Lauderdale County School District)
• Kasey McCann, softball, George County School District
• J.K. McWilliams, basketball, Brandon (Rankin County School District)
• Katelyn Robbins, soccer, New Albany School District
• Terrance Robinson, football/track, Madison Central (Madison County Schools)
• Jeff Stockstill, football, Pass Christian Public School District
• Semaj Williams, football/basketball, West Bolivar Consolidated School District
• Tiffany Wilson, basketball, Quitman County School District
