With his new administrative responsibilities, Jared Hensley knew this would be his final season as Soddy-Daisy's baseball coach. Fortunately the program already had a capable replacement, and Tuesday the Trojans made the easy call to name Jim Higgins the new head coach.
Higgins has taught and coached at his alma mater for the past six seasons, and his family was instrumental in getting the school's baseball facility built. The baseball field is named for his father, the late Tom Higgins.
Soddy-Daisy head wrestling coach Jim Higgins sounds instructions. The Bradley Central Bears visited the Soddy-Daisy Trojans in TSSAA wrestling action at the Soddy-Daisy Wrestling Arena on January 23, 2018. "This has been one of those situations where there's a whole other level of meaning to the job for me," said Higgins, a 1998 graduate who played baseball and football and wrestled. "Because of my family ties and the work my parents put into this place, it means even more that I get to call it my home and work here.
"I am absolutely excited and grateful to the administration and Coach Henley for believing in me and giving me this opportunity. I love Soddy-Daisy and the school, and there's no other place I'd want to coach."
Hensley, who is the school's athletic director and assistant principal, averaged more than 20 wins per season in 10 years of coaching the Trojans.
Higgins recently stepped down as wrestling coach after six years, and assistant Brad Laxton was promoted to take over.
"This will be a seamless transition, and I'm excited for Jim because I know how much pride he'll take in the program," Hensley said. "I think most people knew I would be stepping down, and it was a bittersweet season, but it really helped knowing we had someone like Jim ready to take over."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.