Bob Jones Welcomes Four New Coaches
MADISON- The Bob Jones High athletic program will kick off the 2018-2019 school year with four new additions to its staff of head coaches. The latest to join the coaching force for the Patriots include Ashley Mitchell-Dowdell (Competition Cheer), Katie Goldsmith (Cross Country), Heather Gillenwaters (Girls Golf) and Katie Bryant (Girls Tennis).
“I saw the job come open in the spring and I thought about it and finally applied and things happened rather quickly,” said Mitchell-Dowdell, 34, who was head cheer coach at Decatur’s Austin High from 2012-2018. “I bring a style of coaching that is strong discipline with lots of pride. I believe in the family aspects of life and that translates to team building within our program.”
The cheer squad has been practicing three days a week for two hours each workout throughout the summer. The squad will host its annual Cheer Mini-Camp on Aug. 18 with registration beginning at 8:00 a.m. The camp is for cheerleaders ages four and older. Fees are $40 pre-registration and $45 day of. More details are available at the Bob Jones athletic website.
Goldsmith was a graduate of Bob Jones where she ran cross country and her return is more like a homecoming. She said, “I have accepted the leadership position in order to share my love of running with its athletes. It’s an honor to be returning to my alma mater to coach the boys and girls teams.”
Goldsmith was a five-year runner with the Patriots and received her education at North Alabama.
Bryant comes to the Patriots’ tennis program making it a family affair as her father, Bill, is the head coach of the boy’s tennis team. She is a former All-Gulf South Conference player at UAH and graduated summa cum laude with a degree in communication arts. She is currently a full-time student at North Alabama pursuing a master’s degree in Education. She also works part-time as a certified tennis professional at the Huntsville Tennis Center and continues to play USTA league tennis as a 5.0 caliber talent.
“I worked with the team last year and I’m looking forward to what I expect to be a very solid team with a lot of depth coming back this year,” said Bryant, 25. “I’ve always had to work hard at my sport and I expect my players to put in the effort and reach for a personal goal. This team will be different than last year’s for sure.”
Bryant said she will juggle her schedule of school, tennis lessons and being a head coach very much like she has throughout the years playing tennis since age four. She said she has never approached anything she has dealt with halfway and her approach to her new position at Bob Jones will be faced in the same manner.
As for coaching alongside her father, Bryant said, “I’m excited as tennis has always been the thing we bonded over. This will be something we can collaborate over. This will be good.”
Gillenwaters also returns to her alma mater as she played for the Lady Patriots beginning in the seventh grade, and in her senior season of 2013, qualified for the Alabama High School Athletic Association State Tournament becoming the only player from the program to partake in the State’s final event since the current format went into effect. She also played for her college team at the University of Mobile where was listed as No. 1 on the team roster in her senior season.
“I want the girls to know I’m more than just a chaperone as I want the girls to learn the game and enjoy the game,” said Gillenwaters, 23. “I want to be a hands-on coach when I can, but I also expect my players to take control of their practice habits and do things on their own.”
As the current assistant pro at Sunset Landing Golf Course located at the Jetplex, Gillenwaters offers lessons to anyone and will take her teaching talents to her squad once the season gets underway in January.
“I’m excited about my position at my former school and this will take me on a different direction from the professional side of the sport,” added Gillenwaters, a certified PGA Member since Aug. of 2017. “We have four players returning from last year’s team and I have been recruiting some additional players this summer.”
