SOUTH POINT – Brent Terry figured his time had come.

Tuesday, January 25, 2000

SOUTH POINT – Brent Terry figured his time had come. A well-traveled assistant coach, Terry stepped up into the top position Monday night when the South Point Board of Education hired him as the Pointers new head football coach.

He replaces Chris Watts who resigned in December.

Terry had been a candidate for the vacant Spring Valley (W.Va.) head football coaching position.

"South Point made a nice offer and I couldn’t wait around. A head coaching position doesn’t come around very often, so you have to take the chance when the opportunity presents itself," said Terry.

The son of Spring Valley (W.Va.) High School athletic director and former Buffalo head coach Ron Terry, Brent Terry has served as an assistant football coach the past nine years.

He was an assistant coach under his father from 1991-93 at Buffalo, a student assistant at Marshall University in ’94, wide receivers coach at West Virginia State in ’95, Buffalo’s offensive coordinator in ’96, St. Albans offensive coordinator in ’97, and the defensive backs coach in ’98-99 at Spring Valley. He also spent two summers in 1996-97 as offensive coordinator for the semi-pro Huntington Hawks.

While at St. Albans, Terry coached tight end Jason Rader who signed with Georgia.

Terry said his well-traveled gym bag should be a positive now that he’s a head coach.

"I’ve worked with a number of head coaches, and that’s given me a variety of ways to do things," said Terry.

While this marks Terry’s first job as a head football coach, it’s not his first experience as a head man. He was the head baseball coach at South Point two years ago. Terry said his previous experience should help in his second stint at the school.

"I know the type of kids they have, they have a strong administration, a solid board of education, and we’ll have a good (coaching) staff and we’ll have kids who can compete in the conference," Terry said.

Since Terry will continue to teach at Spring Valley, he said the addition of Jack Nelson and Lynn Schrickel to the coaching staff will be a key.

"That was a big part with me taking this job," said Terry. "Not teaching there, it was important to have them at the school. I don’t see my not being at the school as a problem now. It’s a non-issue to me."

Terry plans a team meeting Wednesday and hopes to start weightlifting Monday for players not currently involved in other sports.

"Our first goal is to get kids not participating in other sports in the weight room. That’s the first order of business," Terry said.

The Pointers were 2-8 last season and the schedule won’t be any easier this season with Ironton, Wheelersburg, Chesapeake, Wayne, and Vinton County still among their opponents.

But that’s fine with Terry.

"It’s going to be a challenge and that’s what I like about it," Terry said.