Coosa High School

4454 Alabama Highway, NW., Rome, Georgia

30165

(706)236-1870

Coosa High School in Rome, Georgia, has the oldest Soccer Team in the Floyd County School System. The Boys (Coed at the time) team was established in 1989 by former head coach, Randy Vice... The Girl's team under the leadership of Roger Dewey,(1994,1995), Randy Vice, (1996,&97) Cindy Moore,(98,2000) qualified for post-season play the first five seasons of their existance . Coach Josh Agan was Girls Head Coach for 3 years. The boys team, led by Randy Vice for 18 years, made several region playoff tournaments and one state tournament appearance. Coach Vice retook the helm of the Girls team in 2004 as well as the Boy's Team. Coach Eric Plants led the Girls team in 2005. The Current head coach of the Girls team is Mr. David Chatman. Coach Vice retired after his 18th season at the helm of the Boy’s team . Coach Jimmy Easterwood was named the new head coach of the Coosa Boy’s Soccer program..

COACH VICE RETIRES AFTER 18 SEASONS

Jeff Gable, Rome News-Tribune Sports Writer

It’s one thing to say that your family matters more than anything else in life.
It’s quite another to make career decisions based on that belief.
Long-time Coosa boys’ soccer coach Randy Vice found it harder and harder to split time between his soccer family and his real family, so he finally came to a decision this year to retire after 18 years of leading the Eagles’ program.
The veteran coach’s final game was Friday night, when Coosa downed Adairsville 5-2.
“It really wasn’t bittersweet until the last whistle,” Vice said of the final game of his coaching career. “I looked at my assistant coach and just said ‘well, that’s it.’ It was actually a little bit sad for me.”
However, no one can fault Vice for his reasons behind the decision to step down.
“My son plays baseball at Westbrook Christian School in Gadsden, Ala.,” Vice explained. “I tried to not miss any of his games this year, but I’ve already missed three or four of them. I don’t want to miss any next year when he’s a senior.
“And my wife is expecting again,” he added. “We lost a child about five and a half years ago, so I just really wanted to spend more time with her and my other children right now.
“Sometimes, you just have to make a family decision. This was easy to decide, but it’s still tough to give up something you love like coaching.”
Vice said watching an opposing coach in a game midway through this season cemented a decision that he was still wrestling with.
“We were playing against Rome High in the Rome Classic Tournament, and I saw (Rome boys’ coach) Randy Nobles coaching his son,” Vice said. “That decided it for me. “I realized after watching him coach his son (Aaron) that I needed to be home more watching mine.”
Nobles is one of several coaches that Vice listed as friends in a profession where coaches must often act as counselors, bus drivers, academic advisors and friends to their players, as well as being their coach.
“It’s ironic that a lot of long-time coaches are retiring at about the same time,” Vice said. “Steve (Davis, of Rome High) stepped down last year and Randy (Nobles) is retiring, too.
“Randy is a good friend, full of integrity. I’ve learned a lot from him. And (former Darlington coach) Gordon Neville was an inspiration to me. He had so much class and he was always a gentleman.
“I’ve developed a lot of friendships in coaching, with those guys and others like Andy Arnold (at LaFayette) and Roger Lowe (at Cartersville).”
Vice said while the games and seasons can tend to run together after a while, being involved with so many young players made his career a very rewarding one.
“Looking back, while it’s hard to remember every kid you teach in class, I think I remember almost all of the ones I’ve coached in soccer,” Vice said. “You think of all the good kids you’ve worked with.
“Some former players were at the game Friday, and that made it even more special. And it was great having a former player (Chris Shephard) as my assistant this season.”
While there were no state championships or victory parades in his time at Coosa, Vice said he didn’t feel like he had to chase more wins to validate his career.
“I’m very comfortable with my decision,” he said. “It’s easy when you feel that you’re doing the right thing.
“I just hope that down the line, I had a positive impact on the kids I coached.”