Fall 2010 Athletic Program - Hammond School

“Staff Spotlight”
Varsity Football Coach
Erik Kimrey
He’s not your typical football
coach. With a medium build
and unassuming personality,
you might just miss Erik
Kimrey if you walk by him on
campus. In his spare time,
he likes to play chess and
study philosophy. He was a
math major in college. He can
often be heard discussing the
teleological argument for the
origin of the universe. On the
Coach Erik Kimrey surface, you might think that
he seems like quite an odd pick
for a football coach. Think again.
Erik’s Father, Bill Kimrey, who joins Erik’s staff this year, coached at Dutch
Fork High School for over 30 years. “My earliest memories,” Erik relates,
“are of my dad’s teams—being on the sidelines, watching all the older
players.” Learning under his father, later playing quarterback for Dutch
Fork, and eventually playing under Lou Holtz for the University of South
Carolina, Erik has learned from some of the best coaches around.
Few Columbia natives will forget that day back in 2000 when starting
quarterback Phil Petty sustained an ankle injury, and Erik took the field in
his place. It was fourth and 10 on the Mississippi State 25 yard line, and
Erik reportedly told Coach Holtz, “I can throw the fade, Coach!” Of course,
Erik’s game-winning throw catapulted him to instant fame among loyal
Gamecocks. Moments like these seem to have prepared Coach Kimrey to
do just the job he’s doing today. Perhaps these moments have something
to do with how he has amassed four straight state championship wins
in the last four years. Yet, asked what has enabled him to have this kind
of success, Erik is quick to point out that he is “surrounded by a talented
team of coaches, and a community that has enabled us to be successful.”
“I feel like we have taken a very realistic approach to coaching—we
realize that we are all flawed and imperfect, and we need to seek out
wisdom and strategies to improve. We understand the urgency of every
moment. Our goal is to be the best we can be—not necessarily to be
first. But typically, if we are the best we can be, we will be first.”
Erik will be teaching an upper school philosophy and religion class in the
spring, and also teaches Physical Education to Lower School students,
mainly Pre-K and first grade. When asked how teaching lower school PE
compares to football, he laughs, and says, “PE is probably harder!”
When asked what the most fulfilling part of his job is, Erik quickly
responds, “It’s watching young men mature and become equipped
with the tools to navigate through life. Football is a great teaching
tool, and you’re able to connect with kids in an arena that you
don’t find in other places. For me, it’s not about watching the great
player go off and play in college. I more enjoy watching the kid who
thought he would never be successful in athletics really surprise
himself by great performance, and the sense of confidence that he
develops through the process. I enjoy the relationship that I have
with a lot of the guys after graduation.”
“Ultimately, if you care about your players, they know it,” he adds.
“So if you crack down on them, they know it’s tough love. Life’s not a
perpetual pat on the back, and this is one of the lessons they learn.”
When asked how he feels about coaching as a career choice, he
shares, “I’ve come to realize that I was born to do this. My birthday
is on the first day of two-a-days. My first memories are of being
on the sidelines watching older players. My whole life has been an
internship for my job. The more I look at my life, the more I realize
that God has put me in the right situation—it’s not that I’ve done
anything special—I’ve just been in a position to learn a lot about
young people and about life. The only question that remains is ‘What
do I do with that?’”
We’re not sure exactly what he’s going to do with that, but we hope
he decides to lead Hammond to a fifth straight state championship.
Most coaches would be hard-pressed to do that.
But then again, he’s not your typical football coach.
S
taff Spotlight
51