Florence Christian will have same head coaches for fourth straight year

Editor’s Note: I, Dennis Brunson, erroneously reported that Denise Carter is no longer the varsity softball head coach at Florence Christian School and had been replaced by Jessie Lyles. Carter is still in charge of the varsity program and Lyles is the junior varsity head coach.

Carter, a longtime FCS coach, also remains as the varsity volleyball coach.

              I misread information provided to me about the Florence Christian coaching staff and did not verify whether or not Carter was the softball coach. I apologize to athletic director Neil Minton, Coach Carter and Coach Lyles as well as Florence Christian for the mistake.

             Florence – For the fourth straight season, Florence Christian School will have the same coaching staff for its varsity sports.

            Denise Carter remains in charge of both the varsity volleyball and varsity softball programs.

         Carter has led the volleyball team to two consecutive AAA state championship matches. The Eagles were 26-6-1 last season. She is the longtime softball coach, and Jessie Lyles will be in charge of the junior varsity program.

Eagles athletic director Neil Minton is happy with the stability of the

Florence Christian coaching staff.

“Our coaching staff is full of qualified professionals and volunteers who

love these kids and love the Lord,” said Minton, who provides a lot of that stability

as both the football head coach and the girls basketball head coach. “We are so

blessed to have a group who is dedicated to our mission through athletics.”

Minton will be going into his 13th season as Florence Christian’s football

coach. The Eagles went 7-5 last season, reaching the semifinals of the AAA state

playoffs before falling to Wilson Hall.

He is being assisted by defensive coordinator Chris Coker, Mark

Drummond, Garrett Coker, Michael Smith and Jared Vernon.

Minton guided the girls basketball team to an 11-13 season without a senior

on the roster. The Eagles won a first-round game in the state tournament to reach

the quarterfinals.

Clay Bochette returns as the boys basketball head coach, hoping to see the

Eagles bounce back from a 4-17 season. Josh Guthrie will again be the baseball

head coach after posting an 11-11 record last year.

Garrett Coker will be in charge of the boys soccer team after leading it an

11-6-1 record a season ago. Rob Hardy will again be the boys golf coach.