Shawn Middleton hired as Siegel softball coach

Shawn Middleton will be a busy man in the 2017-18 school year.

After already having been hired as the Siegel girls basketball coach for the upcoming season, Middleton has also been named the new softball coach.

"I've done multiple sports for quite a while," said Middleton. "The biggest thing was not being a head coach."

Middleton will replace Perry Lyons, who resigned following this season to take a similar position at the new Rocky Fork Middle School.

Middleton has gone from being out of coaching just over a year ago to having three positions within Siegel athletics.

He is also an assistant football coach.

"Our biggest concern was him coaching basketball and softball," said Siegel principal Larry Creasy, on the crossover between the two sports. "He convinced me that he really wants this and can handle both."

Middleton coached numerous sports at Smyrna, including being a softball assistant during the team's 2013 Class AAA state title run.

He was the girls basketball coach before serving a year's suspension by Rutherford County Schools after a 2015 District 7-AAA Tournament incident against Riverdale that involved both teams playing to lose.

After a year off, Middleton has been making up for lost time in a big way. He was a football and boys basketball assistant during the 2016-17 season.

"There are some great parents (at Siegel)," said Middleton. "I've already met with basketball parents and I know a lot of the softball parents.

"I've done (softball/baseball) for a long time. If you asked me what my 'expertise' was in, I would say baseball/softball. (7-AAA) is such a competitive district. There are some great coaches and I already have a good relationship with them."

Lyons led Siegel to the Class AAA state championship game in 2016. The Lady Stars finished sixth in District 7-AAA and did not reach the region this season.

He cited personal reasons and family obligations for his reason to move to the middle school level.

"My mother has been kind of sick lately and I haven't been able to spend as much time helping as I would like," Lyons said. "Coaching middle school will help me be able to do that. Being a high school coach takes a lot of time."

Rocky Fork Middle will predominantly feed Smyrna, with a small percentage of players going to Stewarts Creek.

"I look forward to working with the Smyrna program," Lyons said. "This is just a good situation for me."

Siegel returns numerous players from the 2017 squad, mostly juniors.

"Coach Lyons left the program in great shape," Middleton said.

Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.