Head, assistant coaches return for 1 more year

PEDRO — Todd Knipp and Robert McCollister will return to the Rock Hill High School football sidelines as the head coach and assistant coach, respectively, after the Rock Hill Board of Education voted 4-1 to re-hire the pair for the 2016-2017 school year during a special meeting Monday evening.

At another special meeting this past Monday, two upcoming seniors on the team, Cameron Haas and Nate Malone, told the board they didn’t agree with the decision not to renew their contracts and expressed their desire to re-hire the coaches.

“Coach Knipp has taught me so much. Not just about football, but about life,” Haas, who plays offensive tackle and defensive end, said this past Monday. “He’s the one who makes sure I’m still eligible to play, and even since he hasn’t been renewed, he’s still helping me and he cares so much about the program…”

Malone, who plays tight end and defensive end, agreed and said not only has Knipp been a big factor in making a difference in the program on the field, but he’s impacted his players off of it as well.

“Coach Knipp is a man that we all look up to. He’s taught us more than we could ever have imagined about football, but it’s the lessons about life we’ll remember the most,” he said. “Coach Knipp has shaped us into the men we’ve become today.”

On Monday, the board went into executive session before returning to vote after about an hour, where re-hiring Knipp and McCollister each passed 4-1.

Haas thanked all of the board members who voted to re-hire the coaches following the meeting.

In other actions, the board:

Approved Luke Simpson as the boys J.V. basketball coach for the 2016-2017 school year, 5-0.

Accepted teacher Haley Schamblin’s resignation following the 2015-2016 school year, 5-0.

Authorized the superintendent to act on the grievance filed by the Rock Hill Education Association (RHEA).