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Quitman High School Athletics

NEWS

Matt Manning named Head Football Coach at PCA

MATT MANNING NAMED HEAD FOOTBALL COACH AT PCA

Manning has served as Palmetto Christian’s offensive and defensive line coach for the past two seasons. He takes over for Chris Shimakonis who will reassume his assistant coaching duties after spending one season in the head role. “Matt knows the game of football really well and the kids absolutely love him,” Palmetto Christian athletics director Dale Hoover said. “He’s played the game at a high level in college. Our kids relate to him. He’s a great fit to lead our football team.” Manning, 28, is a 2010 graduate of Coastal Carolina, where he played offensive lineman for the Chanticleers. He moved to Charleston after graduation and joined Palmetto Christian as an assistant coach midway through the 2011 season. He spent a year away from coaching, teaching English in China through a ministry opportunity in 2012 but rejoined Palmetto Christian for the 2013 season. “We’re definitely going to be a team that works hard,” Manning said. “A hard-nosed team that’s willing to work for one another, serve one another and encourage one another. I’m honestly really most excited to just see our kids grow as football players and grow as young men.” Coaching runs in Manning’s family. His mother is a tennis coach in Florida. His father is a longtime high school football coach. Manning played for his father at Taylor High School in Florida where he was named all-state his junior and senior seasons. Manning says he’s long known he wanted to follow in his parents’ footsteps in coaching and teaching. “I talk to them a lot. I can run ideas off them, see what works, what doesn’t,” Manning said. “Seeing the impact my father had on kids and helping them grow up from a ninth-grader to 18 years old, I had that same passion and I knew wanted to do the same thing.” Manning will be the second head coach in as many seasons for Palmetto Christian football after Jim Daniel, who started the program in 2008, resigned as the school’s athletics director and football coach in June. Hoover, who was approved as full-time athletics director in December, believes Manning’s hire is the next step in regaining stability in Palmetto Christian athletics. Manning takes over a team that finished 1-9 overall this season, but he says he’s optimistic about the direction and future of the program. In the past year, the team received a new weight room and has been outfitted with new uniforms, new shoulder pads and new Ridell Speedflex helmets armed with innovative concussion-prevention technology. Three-fourths of the 2014 roster is expected to return next season. Offseason participation numbers have increased from last year for the varsity and nearly doubled for the middle school program. “It takes a lot of patience and daily growth, but that’s the reason I got into coaching – to help kids become better,” Manning said. “Not only better football players, but better sons, brothers, eventually husbands and fathers. Seeing that process of growth and discipleship is exciting. “We want to create a culture of hard work. We’re going to be a team that gets after it no matter what. It’s a process and I’m looking forward to getting started.”

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