When school starts and his football program falls into a daily routine, Hixson coach Houston White will first run his Wildcats through defensive practice every day.
The schedule is by necessity more than preference. The move will allow precious minutes for offensive coordinator Daniel Hearn and running backs coach Kelly Hardeman to scurry from their day jobs as teachers at East Hamilton and East Ridge.
Hearn had taught at Hixson for four years. He had built relationships with players in the classroom as well as on the football field. With teacher cutbacks at almost every Hamilton County school, Hearn was forced to move, and he would have surrendered close to $10,000 a year from a supplement if he didn't keep coaching.
"When I found out I was cut I was thinking I would have a job, that it was almost a certainty that I'd be placed," Hearn said.
With Hixson dismissing students at 2:30, Hearn would have been out of coaching if he had gone to a school that didn't dismiss until close to 4. East Hamilton lets out at 2:15.
"If I couldn't coach I would take a serious pay cut. I was near panic," he said. "It would have been a tough pill to swallow. If the worst case is driving, then I can swallow that. When you think about hardships, I'm still in pretty good shape. I wasn't mad at anybody in particular. I just felt I got the shaft."
Hamilton County's school system is rife with such tales for teachers and coaches.
"It's that way across the U.S. for the most part," Red Bank principal Gail Chuy said.
Her life and those of her peers are just as tough as those of the coaches and teachers who get reassigned.
"When it comes to coaches, we have to take care of the academic side," said new East Ridge principal Zac Brown.
Brown is looking for a wrestling coach to replace Brad Jackson, who moved to East Hamilton to become an assistant principal, but his priority is a teacher who is certified to teach math, history and economics.
"I want a highly qualified coach, but I have to take care of the classroom first," Brown said. "I lost three classroom spots, and I'm trying to fill those with one hire."
Hiring a football coach and then finding or making a spot for him is no longer an option.
"We hire teachers first," Tyner principal Carol Goss said. "Unfortunately, many coaches have certifications in (physical education) and history, and those jobs are not as plentiful. To find a math teacher who can coach what you need just doesn't happen.
"While the coaching part enhances everything we do within the building, the coaching part comes second. I may find a coach who will do a terrible job in the classroom, and that's not fair to the students. That's a big dilemma. There are too many who want to coach without teaching."
Said Chuy: "There is so much accountability as far as testing and the No Child Left Behind program. It keeps you from doing those kinds of things."
White said the situation has increased the importance of volunteer coaches. He has three to complement his staff of three paid assistants.
Chuy lost two coaches from her faculty. Longtime baseball coach Bumper Reese moved to Signal Mountain voluntarily, but wrestling coach Ben Reichel was a victim of the cutbacks. Reichel will continue as Red Bank's wrestling coach, although he refused a teaching position at the new Wolftever Creek Elementary on the far side of the county. He returned to the business sector.
"We were lucky enough to have somebody here (Trey Hicks) that I felt was highly qualified for the baseball position," Chuy said. "A lot of coaches have history or social studies certifications, but that may not be what we need if we're hiring (teachers).
"One year we had to have an art teacher that could coach football. Coach (Tim) Daniels went out and found one, but cutbacks can have a huge effect on coaching. It gets to be quite a chess game, especially when filling coaching positions. It's very complicated at times, and with regard to wrestling we are fortunate to have a dedicated individual like Ben."
Goss had a piece of advice for aspiring teachers and coaches.
"To coaches and teachers in general I would say, 'Don't take the route of history or P.E.,'" she said. "'Make sure you have certifications that are marketable. ... Look at hard-to-fill areas and understand the difficulty. If you're getting a history certification, also get economics or geography. If you can add special education, that helps.'"
Hearn, already qualified to teach history and geography, is one of those who has learned that lesson. He took a qualifying test Saturday that, if passed, would add economics certification to his resume.