Edgewood Academy is in pursuit of fulfilling the vacancies of athletic director and football coach after the departure of coach Chad Michael, who left to coach at Prattville Christian Academy.
Edgewood headmistress Susan Barner has taken a very calculated approach to the hiring process and knows the importance of the two positions she’s hiring.
“We've had a tremendous amount of applications submitted, truthfully, much more than I expected to have,” Barner said. “We've had a tremendous bunch of applications with some very well qualified candidates, and we have conducted numerous interviews providing us with several runners in the picture. The search is going to go very well.”
Barner has spent 36 years in the Edgewood Academy administration with the last two serving as the headmaster. She was also a member of the very first championship cheer team at Edgewood.
“Obviously, I want someone who is well qualified,” Barner said. “I want someone who is experienced but more importantly to me is I want a person who will be a leader of young men, not necessarily just in the winning column, but it is more important to me that I have someone in the job of great character who is going to be a role model for our students.”
Character and class are highly regarded to Barner, so these are traits that are being sought after in all of the potential candidates for the respective positions.
“Winning is important. More important is developing young men for today's world,” Barner said.
There are currently four applicants who are in serious consideration. The new hire will fill both positions.
Edgewood is no stranger to success. It has won seven state championships, including six straight through 2010 and 2015. The school has also sent multiple athletes to compete beyond high school.
“To be a small private school, we have a tremendous percentage of students who play at the next level, which, there's the false belief that if you are a student at a small private school, that you won't get the exposure to play at the next level, which is completely false,” Barner said. “I believe our record stands for itself. We have students in the NFL and not many people can say that. So we have a tremendous number of people that do play at the next level. And not only do they get signed, but they continue throughout their college career.”
Barner plans on making an official decision by the end of this month.
