Darlington School announces the following coaching changes and additions for the 2014-15 school year:
Head Coaching Changes
Katie Ellis will be head cross country coach, while continuing to teach English at the Upper School level. She has served as assistant cross country coach since her arrival at Darlington in 2010, helping lead both teams to very successful performances. The Lady Tigers won the Class A state title four years ago and have been in the top four at state every year since. The boys' team has finished as state runner-up in Class A the past two seasons. Ellis
holds a B.A. in English from Sewanee: The University of the South.
Mike Hudson ('94) will be head swim coach and assistant cross country coach, while continuing to teach chemistry at the Upper School. Hudson
holds a B.S. in Biology from Georgia Tech and an M.S. in Biology from the University of West Georgia. Prior to Darlington, Hudson taught and coached at Marist School and Model High School. As a Darlington student, he was a four-year member of the swim team.
Gordon Hight ('94) will be director of the boys' lacrosse program. The director of Upper School for Darlington from 2009-2011, Hight has coached the boys' lacrosse team in the past, helping lead the team to the state championship title in 1999. He holds a B.A. from the University of Virginia and a M.B.A. from the University of Georgia. He also taught history, government and economics at Darlington from 2002-2005, in addition to serving terms as director of student activities and director of summer programs.
Jessie Weaver will be head softball and assistant golf coach, while also teaching math part time at the Upper School. She holds a B.S. in Business Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she played collegiate softball. She is currently finishing up her Master of Art in Teaching with a focus on Secondary Education (Mathematics) from the University of Phoenix. Weaver has two years of experience in marketing and account management at Shaw Industries. She also has 11 years of experience coaching softball through Champions Fast Pitch Academy. A three-time ACC Champion in softball, she was named to the All-ACC Academic Team and the All-ACC Honor Roll for softball as well.
Andrew Williams will be head crew coach. He is a 2012 graduate of Berry College and currently serves as Berry's head crew coach and a graduate assistant in the Advancement Office. Williams was a member of the U.S. Marine Corps from 2009-2012, and was an officer candidate.
David Yarborough will be head coach of the boys' lacrosse team, in addition to teaching American history and civics/government at the middle school level. He holds a B.A. in Social Sciences from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, where he also earned his Teacher Certification. Yarborough also has an M.Ed. in Secondary School Administration from the University of Missouri, St. Louis. Most recently, he taught world history at The Walker School in Marietta, Ga. He has 35 years of experience teaching and coaching football, lacrosse, basketball, baseball and track.
Assistant Coaching Changes
Patrick Collier (08) - Assistant Track Coach
Mike Hudson ('94) - Assistant Cross Country Coach
Preston Jacobs ('07) - Assistant Boys' Lacrosse Coach
Austin Mansour ('11) - Assistant Boys' Soccer Coach
Wendy Payne - Assistant Cheerleading Coach
Joe Peroni - Assistant JV Volleyball Coach
Grey Simpson - Assistant Football Coach
Anne Paige Wilson - Assistant Cheerleading Coach
Chad Woods - Assistant Baseball Coach
Middle School Coaching Changes
Flo Anthony - Football Cheerleading Coach
Charlie Beaucham - Head Football Coach
Patrick Collier ('08) - Assistant Football Coach
Ashley Evans - Cross Country Coach
Athletic Trainer Changes
Donny Brown has been named assistant athletic trainer. He is an employee at Floyd Medical Center and the former trainer for Rockmart High School. Brown holds a bachelor's degree from Berry College and a master’s degree from Life University. In addition, he earned a certificate as an emergency medical technician-intermediate from North Metro Technical Institute in Acworth, Ga. Brown is certified by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. He will work with Darlington's head athletic trainer Jessica Guadagno.