Coach Bobby Norwood Leaving Seymour

[SeymourSoccer5]

Coach Norwood resigned both boys and girls head coaching positions at Seymour to take girls position at Sevier County High School.

 

Link below has some interesting information about the change.

 

 

 

Norwood trades in his blue for purple

 

BY JASON DAVIS, SPORTS EDITOR, The Mountain Press

 

http://mountainpress.southernheadlines.com...amp;story=19372

[BigG]

Can anyone post the actual article here? The registration for reading that article seems a bit excessive.

[gchunn]

Coach Norwood will do a great job at Sevier Co. That should be a good fit. Any idea who Seymour is looking at to replace Bobby?

[socrfan28]

Coach Norwood will do a great job at Sevier Co. That should be a good fit. Any idea who Seymour is looking at to replace Bobby?

 

True that Bobby will do a good job. But it has left a lot of kids unsure of what will happen with Seymour soccer. I know that Sevier County has more adminstration support than Seymour, maybe the adminstration at Seymour will step up now. Seymour should have both great teams this year. It was just a shock that Bobby would leave and not see the kids he starting coaching as freshman and will be seniors this year. I think that is what has hurt the kids the most.

Good luck to Bobby at Sevier County.

[akula21]

Norwood trades in his blue for purple

 

 

By JASON DAVIS, Sports Editor

Jun 17, 2009

 

SEVIERVILLE ?— Next season cross-county rivals Seymour and Sevier County will be playing for more than just bragging rights as the two teams face off as conference rivals for the first time ever in the newly-formed District 2-AAA.

 

If the two teams needed any more stoking of the rivalry, they got it Tuesday when Seymour coach Bobby Norwood became the former Seymour soccer coach and the new coach of Sevier County's Bearettes.

 

Norwood, who graduated from Seymour High in 1999 and actually coached both the boys and the girls at his alma mater, said the decision to fly the coup for a county rival was tough, but one that couldn't be passed up.

 

"It's never an easy situation, but from a standpoint of soccer, what you see here ­?— (facilities) and administration ?— this is where I need to be to be able to do what I want to do.

 

"The facilities and support staff, it's just unbelievable."

 

Norwood said the biggest dilemma in leaving Seymour wasn't moving to a rival, however, it was leaving the kids he's formed bonds with over the past three years.

 

"I told my kids today," Norwood said. "The girls were (upset) and the boys stayed around and talked. It's just going to be one of those deals. I know that there are going to be some hard feelings there, but I put a lot of time in there and I made strides to make them a better team."

 

Norwood will be replacing his former high school coach, Dixon Brown, as the head of the girls soccer program at SCHS. The decision to replace Brown was made as school ended, and after a week of posting the job, Sevier County had three qualified applicants for the position.

 

"After 10 years of good service to soccer (from Brown), we decided to go in a new direction," Sevier County Athletic Director Todd Loveday said. "We appreciate the time he did put in to soccer, and he's one of the reasons that this was an attractive job after he was out. (But) we're heading in a new direction, we've got a new conference, and we felt it was time for a new direction."

 

Norwood's Lady Eagles soccer team last year made its first trip to the state tournament, bumping off rivals Pigeon Forge and Catholic in postseason play, and finishing 18-7 overall.

 

"I'm going to miss all of them," Norwood said of his Seymour soccer players. "I know every soccer player that's a fifth grader and up that's in Seymour right now. It's tough. It's never an easy decision to do something like this. It was a big deal, something me and my wife and me and Cory (Gephart, Norwood's chief assistant) talked about it.

 

"You build relationships, and losing that is a big deal. Hopefully they won't hold any hard feeling toward me about it. If they need anything, they can call me and I'll be there for them. I'm just not going to be on the sidelines (with them)."

 

Norwood had big plans for Seymour soccer, and he would have been entering his second year as the girls head coach and his third as head coach of the boys.

 

"The transition to purple (from Seymour's blue and gold) is different," Norwood said. "This is my first Sevier County shirt ?— I had to buy it today as a matter of fact. It's a big deal, that made the decision that much tougher.

 

"Whenever I was in college, and Cory was in college with me, we talked about coming home and changing Seymour soccer, and I think we made a big difference in that.

 

"At the same time there are walls and things that we just can't get through right now. Those walls have already been broken down at Sevier County. So I'm excited about that and about the opportunity.

 

The facilities, the administration ?— it doesn't get any better than that," Norwood said. "Todd Loveday is going to be a great athletic director. I'm excited as heck about working with him."

 

On the field, Norwood anticipates some challenges.

 

"It's going to take some time to build, I've been told we have 8-13 players returning and it takes 11 to play, so we're going to

 

 

 

 

 

have some building to do. Seymour is loaded. They've got two good teams. They're senior-loaded, and that made it that much tougher to leave.

 

"(But) it's exciting, man it's exciting. The opportunities that are here are endless. Coming into this new district, the old district was the toughest in Tennessee, coming in everybody knows that they've got the chance to win the district."

 

"Hopefully we can change the morale around here, just like we did at Seymour. Seymour didn't think they could get over that Catholic hurdle and by gosh, they did it."

 

Loveday said two things really stuck out in his mind from the interview process with Norwood.

 

"I sat down with Bobby last week, and he was chomping at the bit. It was an obvious choice," Loveday said. "The main thing that impressed me with him was how he was tore up about having to tell his kids at Seymour. He knew this was something he wanted to do, but he was battling, it broke his heart to have to tell them and his administration since he was from there and played there.

 

"All that stuck out to me more than any X's and O's could. But he's got a tattoo of a soccer ball on his ankle. That told me quite a bit. He's eager, and he's one of those coaches you can just tell it's in his blood ?— he's a soccer coach."

 

Norwood played four years of college soccer ?— two at Hiwassee College and two at Williams Baptist College in Arkansas ?— before coming back home to Seymour.

 

mpsports@themountainpress.com

[cnpitbull]

Coach Norwood will do a great job at Sevier Co. That should be a good fit. Any idea who Seymour is looking at to replace Bobby?

 

 

I have heard that Mickey Williams will be taking over the reins for both teams. I was interested in the boys position (coaching at my alma mater has always been something I've dreamed about), but I believe the search is closed and a number of variables would have had to align for that to have been possible. I'm sure Mickey will do a wonderful job with the kids and wish him and both clubs the absolute best. Being a close friend of Coach Norwood, I know this was a very difficult decision for him. He cared about his players greatly and still does. In the grand scheme of things, individual people have to ultimately make decisions on what is best for themselves and their families. I know that Bobby left both programs in a better position for success than they were when he arrived and for that, he and Coach Gephart should be commended.

[socrfan28]

I have heard that Mickey Williams will be taking over the reins for both teams. I was interested in the boys position (coaching at my alma mater has always been something I've dreamed about), but I believe the search is closed and a number of variables would have had to align for that to have been possible. I'm sure Mickey will do a wonderful job with the kids and wish him and both clubs the absolute best. Being a close friend of Coach Norwood, I know this was a very difficult decision for him. He cared about his players greatly and still does. In the grand scheme of things, individual people have to ultimately make decisions on what is best for themselves and their families. I know that Bobby left both programs in a better position for success than they were when he arrived and for that, he and Coach Gephart should be commended.

 

Does it really matter, the boys have a 11 seniors this year. They could probably coach the team, but they will need a field and support. Was the position ever posted? Never saw it, if it was.

[SeymourSoccer5]

Does it really matter, the boys have a 11 seniors this year. They could probably coach the team, but they will need a field and support. Was the position ever posted? Never saw it, if it was.

 

 

The position was posted until the 25th and several people have applied. Interviews are being held next week.

[akula21]

will they hire one person for both or will they split the programs up?

any teasers?

[SeymourSoccer5]

will they hire one person for both or will they split the programs up?

any teasers?

 

 

Both or split depending on how the interviews go.

 

Having done extensive research on successful programs in the knoxville area, I believe Seymour is looking for a coach with the first name Tom!

[gchunn]

Both or split depending on how the interviews go.

 

Having done extensive research on successful programs in the knoxville area, I believe Seymour is looking for a coach with the first name Tom!

 

 

NOW THAT WAS FUNNY!!!! /roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />

[BigG]

Both or split depending on how the interviews go.

 

Having done extensive research on successful programs in the knoxville area, I believe Seymour is looking for a coach with the first name Tom!

 

/roflol.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":roflol:" border="0" alt="roflol.gif" />