Today’s interviewee is New Hampstead coach Kyle Hockman, whose team is off to a 4-0 start. New Hampstead and Islands – both off this week before their showdown next Friday – are the highest-rated and only unbeaten teams from the Savannah-Chatham school district, which elected this season to allow only inter-district play for its eight football teams. Hockman, in his second year at New Hampstead, previously coached for 11 seasons at Class 7A McEachern in Cobb County, where he won five region titles.
Kyle Hockman, New Hampstead head coach
1. New Hampstead is a world of difference from McEachern in many ways, from area to size to tradition to resources. What have you learned since coming to New Hampstead that perhaps you didn’t anticipate? “It’s what I anticipated. I did lots of research. Obviously nothing compares to McEachern, but I find there is lots talent down here, not as much hype. More down-to-earth kids and parents, mostly. Building a program is fun. Building a staff is fun. Kids are enjoying success, but we need more time in the weight room to get where we want to be. Trying to raise the standard across the entire school and county is challenging. Can’t accept mediocracy.”
2. What’s the significance of next week’s game vs. Islands, a battle of unbeatens, for your team? “As a program, we want to play in as many ‘championship’ type games as possible. Some years it’s city, county, region, hopefully someday state. So, yes it is a really big game, city-championship type of atmosphere, and the region seeding will be huge.”
3. How do you feel about Savannah Schools' decision to play only within district this season, and how is that working out? “I don’t like it at all. We had a really tough non-region schedule, wanting to get our guys to see what Lowndes' atmosphere was like. Rematches with the likes of Richmond Hill and Brunswick would have gotten us ready for region games, and obviously the private-school bully in town, BC [Benedictine].”
4. You’re one of a number of coaches recently who’ve left big metro Atlanta programs for smaller schools in vastly different parts of the state. Those include Phillip Ironside from Hillgrove to Worth County, Shannon Jarvis from Mill Creek to Elbert County and Kevin Reach from Collins Hill to Monroe Area. What do you feel pulls some coaches in that direction? And how are things gone for you in that pursuit? “My first 10 years of coaching was at the college level, so to get 30 years in for full retirement, I will be 65-years-old. I knew I couldn’t stay in the world of crazy metro Atlanta high school football, so we invested in Tybee Island with anticipation of moving at some point while I continued to coach. Like many who retire and are double-dipping into another state, this is my retirement job. I spend lots of time on the beach, running/jogging, working, lots of Zoom meetings while I’m on the beach. Nothing like posting game celebratory cigar while walking on the beach at midnight with a full moon shining on the ocean. Why others have left, I’m not sure, but a few ideas - the transfer craze, the college recruiting craze that is 24/365 for big-time high schools and even better pay in some of these one-horse towns.”
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