Chesterfield – After 25 years as a coach in Georgia, Kevin Kenny is enjoying his new gig as the athletic director at Chesterfield High School.
The former basketball coach may miss the coaching aspect a little but he has more than enough on his plate as he directs the athletic department at the Class AA school.
“This is a great place to work, a great school with an administration, coaching staff and community that really understands the value of athletics,” Kenny said. “We have a great tradition. We compete across the board in most sports. That’s our goal, to be competitive. We want to compete for region championships and earn opportunities in the playoffs. If things break just right, we want to win state championships.”
Things did indeed break right for the Chesterfield softball team during the 2023 season. The Rams, coached by former player Christian Lisenby, won their first state title since 2012, beating Mid-Carolina in a decisive game three of the AA championship series.
“A coach once told me that to win a state championship you need good coaching, great players, and a little luck,” Kenny said. “Our softball team was incredible in the playoffs. They faced elimination a few times but they always battled back. It was a true joy watching them play. Christian did an amazing job making that team believe they could do great things.”
Kenny says the athletic teams fared pretty well across the board, but a few teams had their struggles with inexperience. He is looking forward to more championships in the future, particularly in girls’ sports.
“We’re in a good run of female athletes and it goes down the younger ages,” he said. “I think we have a chance in the next four or five years to win a lot. We have the coaching and the talent level is strong.”
While pleased with the direction of the program, Kenny says there are still ways to improve. He would like to see more athletes participating in more than one sport.
“At a small school, we need the athletes to participate, even if it’s just to have some depth,” he said.
Kenny says a turf football field may be in the future at Chesterfield. He says the baseball program is looking into getting covered batting cages as well.
“We always look at upgrades where we need them,” he said. “We want our athletes to have the best that we can provide.”
Kenny says there are no new varsity head coaches for the coming year.
“Not a lot of turnover here because our coaches love what they do and they really put a lot of energy into their programs,” Kenny said.
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