Payne new girls soccer skipper
A re-energized Drew Payne will take the reigns as Farragut High School’s new varsity girls soccer head coach.
Head coach of Seymour High School boys [six years] and girls [four years], winning district titles with both teams, Payne earned district Coach of the Year honors there before stepping down, for family reasons, after the spring 2015 boys season.
However, Payne remained a social studies teacher at Seymour, which he will teach at Farragut.
“I’m very excited to be here,” Payne, 32, said to about 35 current and prospective FHS girls soccer student athletes upon being introduced by principal Ryan Siebe Wednesday afternoon, May 3, in the school’s library.
“I actually have roots here in Farragut, from birth to first grade,” Payne, a former Gibbs Eagles star and Lincoln Memorial University player, added without announcing much information about his coaching style, team goals or expectations.
“I can tell you that his soccer knowledge is extensive,” Siebe said. “... I’m really excited about what’s to come.”
“I’m really excited to see what he’s going to bring to the new Farragut High School culture,” said Amy Cloud, FHS midfielder who will be a junior next season.
Payne and wife, Jessica, have two children: Lila, 2, and Kellen, 4 months.
