Chapin's Cole ready for head coaching opportunity

Chapin – Having worked and learned his craft under some quality mentors, Ryan Cole feels he is ready for his first opportunity as a high school head football coach.

Cole was named earlier this spring as Chapin High’s next coach, replacing Justin Gentry, who retired after 14 seasons at Chapin. Cole was Chapin’s defensive coordinator the last two seasons and seemed a logical fit to carry the torch.

“I have been preparing and learning for this opportunity my entire life,” said Cole, who got his first taste of coaching as a graduate assistant at Clemson. “My dad was a coach. It’s in my blood to coach. All I have ever wanted to do is coach football. I have coached middle school ball, jayvee ball, been a position coach and a coordinator. Everything I have done is to prepare myself as a head coach and I am so excited about being the head football coach at Chapin.”

Cole has worked under a few high school legends in his career. He spent time at Swansea, guided by championship winning coach Robert Maddox. He also worked at Chapin under Eddie Muldrow early in his career and worked under legend Tom Knotts at Dutch Fork.

“I’ve been so fortunate to have worked under some legendary coaches and I have taken something from all of them, including my dad,” Cole said.

As a defensive coordinator, Cole was highly energetic, pouring into his defensive players. As a head coach, he says he will still be high energy but will have to tone it down a bit.

“I have to learn to pace myself,” he joked. “I have to focus on more things so I have to keep focused on all aspects of the team. One that that won’t change is the way we coach our kids. We are going to coach positively but still hold the kids accountable. We want our guys to be relentless with their effort, on the field, in the weightroom, in the classroom.”

Cole has promoted inside linebackers coach Cal Sayger to the role of defensive coordinator while Jody Haltiwanger maintains his role as the offensive coordinator.

A couple of new faces on the staff include outside linebackers coach Casey McWethy and inside linebackers coach Grady Sondgeroth. Jacoby Bush is new to the secondary and Andrew Drozdak is new to the offensive line.

“Coach Gentry laid a great foundation for this program and my job is to build on what he did,” Cole said. “I am excited. The kids are buying in. They are excited too.”

Chapin opens the season on Aug. 23 against Catawba Ridge.