There is a change in leadership for the Sissonville Indians football program. The Kanawha County Board of Education approved Michael Hughes as the new coach of the Indians on Monday.
Hughes becomes the third coach for Sissonville since 2021, following Jeremy Hairston and Chad Lovejoy.
“We’re very excited about the future of our football program,†Sissonville athletic director Rich Skeens said. “We feel as though we found a coach in Michael who understands the situation we have been in for several years now and who has a plan to get us back to where we once were.
“He is very excited about the opportunity to lead Sissonville football, and our athletes seem enthusiastic and eager to get to work for him.â€
Hughes has had stops with a few local programs, including Poca and Herbert Hoover.
The new Indians coach spent last season with the Dots. He is ecstatic for his first post as a head coach.
“I’m a Poca guy and there are a lot of similarities between there and Sissonville,†Hughes said. “Sissonville is a tight-knit community. The people around here care for each other. It’s a family environment out here, which is what I had always heard.
“Everyone has each other’s back out here, and these people love their football.â€
Hughes learned under Hoover’s Joey Fields and Poca’s Seth Ramsey, whom he said were his two best teachers.
The new Sissonville leader was on the Hoover coaching staff when the Huskies made the state final in 2022.
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“Coach Hughes is a teacher first, while also being motivated, organized and a well-rounded coach in all three phases of the game,†Fields said. “Mikey did a fantastic job for us at Hoover.â€
Hoover’s sideline boss called his protégé “the type of coach you would want your son playing for. I wish him the absolute best at Sissonville.â€
Sissonville has gone the last two seasons without a victory and has won just four games since 2021. Its last win was against Westside on Nov. 4, 2022, 57-32.
Hughes understands that it will require quite the sales pitch to garner the attention of athletes in the school to play football.
“There’s a lot of pride in it being a family environment out here,†Hughes said. “The first step is keeping our kids that come from the middle school and establishing contacts and relationships with those kids. We’re bringing back the youth football camp again, which will be a great experience.
“We’re in a day and age where kids have a lot more opportunities. You have to build the program up. You have to put your program out there the best you can.â€
Coaches often choose to use flex days for spring football. To that end, being new to the program, Hughes knows he and his staff are behind because it is already April. However, he knows that getting back to the basics will be a key first step in building the Indians up.
“The best thing is to get into the weight room with the kids,†Hughes said. “We’ve had 20 to 30 kids in the weight room, which is great. It’s getting these kids under some weight, then pushing themselves. We have team competitions right after, then cardio following that. It’s getting kids competing against one another and getting them in the mindset where we get to the point where losing isn’t OK.â€
Hughes also emphasized that he wants community members to know he wants to remain loyal to them.
“I want the community to know that I’m not going anywhere,†Hughes said. “I’m here for the long haul. I want to build this program as much as we can. I want to win with our guys. I’m going to do everything I can for these kids. I’ll hold them accountable, while being their biggest ally and critic.â€
