Stewart Young - Lexington

Young left his alma mater Saluda after 21 years as a coach there. He started his career as an assistant before working his way up to Saluda’s head coaching role. He led the team to one of its most successful stretches in school history, winning the 2019 state championship and having only one sub-.500 season in 11 years.

The decision to leave Saluda was not easy, but Young was ready for a new challenge, in a bigger classification, against some of the best schools in the state.

“ I just kind of wanted another challenge, a different challenge and a different opportunity,” he said. “ It’s been a big adjustment. Bigger school, a lot more players, a lot more moving parts.”

Perry Parks - River Bluff

River Bluff head coach Perry Parks is excited to get back in the high school game after coaching in the college ranks the past few years. Parks is the former Ridge View head coach and led the Blazers to a 44-24 record in his six seasons there.

Parks is ready to lead a River Bluff program that is moving in the right direction.

“ We have a lot of family here in this area,” he said. “So just the chance to be able to coach football, but then also being a dad again, just drew me to it, and it’s a great opportunity, great school, great facility. They’re coming off one of their better years of school history.”

Louis Clyburn - Brookland-Cayce

Clyburn takes over the Brookland-Cayce program after decades of moving in and out of various high school and college coaching staffs. He most recently served as the offensive coordinator for Camden.

His experience has taken him all over the place and allowed him to build connections that few other coaches have. His staff is composed of other talented coaches from the college and high school ranks. Clyburn is banking on those connections to pay off on and off the field.

“ I think that gives us a leg up on having a connection with the coaches that are out there now. If we have players … that can play in the ACC, we’re not just guessing,” he said. “ Our jobs depended on knowing who could play and who couldn’t. I think that gives a little bit more value to our opinion when we’re helping our kids get recruited to the next level.”

Chris Napier - Airport

New Airport head coach Chris Napier brings years of coaching experience from the high school and collegiate ranks. Napier has coached in many states, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, West Virginia, Kentucky and Ohio.

He spent the past season at Newberry as an analyst and served on the River Bluff staff before that.

“ I just thought this was a good opportunity to be able to give back to kids and to help coaches reach their goals,” Napier said. “I just love being able to help serve other people.”

Cory Helms - Pelion

Helms comes to Pelion after three years as head coach at Cardinal Newman. He took the Pelion job because of his love for small-town communities and the chance to mold the program in his image.

After graduating from South Carolina, Helms spent some time in the NFL on preseason and training camp rosters. He returned to the Midlands to begin his coaching career and never looked back.

“ It just means a lot to me, and to be able to give it back to kids is awesome,” he said.

Kemper Amick - American Leadership Academy

Defensive coordinator Kemper Amick was promoted to the Patriots’ head coach gig after Robin Bacon resigned.

Amick was a long-time coach at Columbia High School, leading the team to multiple region titles and deep playoff runs. He is excited for the opportunity at ALA and hopes he can build the team from the ground up.

“ I just kinda look at it as like riding a bike,” he said. “Kids are kids. They’re still the same as they’ve always been. These kids have accepted the responsibility. They want to work and put in the time, and hopefully it’ll pay off for us.”