Pat Thompson named Sweet Water head football coach
Pat Thompson is the new head football coach of Sweet Water High School. The Marengo County Board of Education made the hire Thursday evening during its monthly meeting.
“This is a great opportunity for me. It is something I kind of looked forward to for a long time,” Thompson said of his new opportunity. “To be able to do it at a place like Sweet Water just makes it that much better.”
Thompson, who has been Sweet Water’s defensive coordinator under former head coach Stacy Luker, has been with the Bulldogs for seven years. He previously spent 10 years in Thomasville and opened his coaching career at Northview High in Florida.
“Now I’m in charge. I’ll have to make those hard decisions, whereas in the past that was on Stacy,” Thompson said of how his role with the program will now change. “But he included me in a lot of it. Stacy has been great for me as far as letting me handle things.”
Pat Thompson, who is currently coaching Sweet Water High School softball, was named the new Sweet Water football coach Thursday.
Having spent his coaching career working under Thomasville’s Jack Hankins and Luker, who announced his retirement in January and moved on to Neshoba Central in Philadelphia, Miss.
Thompson credited those coaches with teaching him to run a program.
“I’ve coached with some great guys from Stacy and Jack to Gene Ellison at Northview that have taught me a lot about doing things right,” Thompson said. “Working with Stacy, he’s always been very consistent in everything that he has done and the way he has handled things. He’s always just done things the right way.”
Thompson, who is currently coaching the Sweet Water High School softball team, said he intends to retain all of the coaches who were part of the football staff in 2013. Thompson likely will not change much else as he looks to retain the offensive approach that has long made Sweet Water a state power.
“We’re going to stay with the Wing-T. That’s what I know. We ran the Wing-T when I was in high school,” Thompson said. “My first coaching job was the Wing-T and I’ve been in the Wing-T ever since. I’m sure we’re going to be in the Wing-T in some form.”