Wright returns home to lead Admirals
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After helping Farragut as a player and later as an assistant coach, Derek Wright has returned to lead. - Jake Nichols
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Before being tabbed as Farragut’s next head soccer coach, Derek Wright worked with the Admirals as an assistant to achieve a few of the state championship banners pictured behind him. - Jake Nichols
Friday, Aug. 14, Derek Wright settled onto Farragut’s home bench and gazed out at his new home.
The scene looked quite familiar to the longtime Admiral assistant soccer coach, who followed his own playing career by learning under the late Wallie Culbreth for seven seasons (2002-2007, 2012).
In that time, Wright assisted in capturing three of the state championship banners hanging along the fence.
Now he is hoping to lead the Ads to more accomplishments, having been announced as their newest head coach last week.
“I’ve talked to some other high school programs over the years about opportunities and have said no because I would never want to coach against Farragut,” Wright said. “It’s my home and the school I love, and I am so grateful for this opportunity.”
Wright succeeds Bradley Culbreth, who led the Ads to a 59-35-12 with a 13-2-2 mark last season.
Wright brings three years of experience as Farragut’s middle school coach, too, also having cut his teeth in club soccer, using the principles he learned in the first few years of his career.
Wright added a special thanks to his wife, Melissa, and kids Bennett, Logan and Karis.
“I have a wife that the Lord has blessed me with who encourages me, champions me and she loves the opportunity I’ve had to be part of this,” Wright said. “We celebrated 20 years of marriage while this job was coming open, so we talked and prayed about what this next chapter might look like. I think she was more excited than I was, and that made me want to do this even more.”
His son Logan Wright nailed a pair of headers in last season’s district semifinal as FHS lost to West to end its 2026 season.
That match marked the final outing for seniors like Lincoln Unger and Charlie Sorochan.
But after a disappointing finish, Wright is adamant that Farragut is not going anywhere.
“This group coming up, I coached them in middle school. It’s a talented group,” he said. “I don’t want anybody to think that Farragut will have to take a couple years to reload. No, the guys we have here can play and are talented, and I believe they are primed for that.”
To aid in that preparation, Wright is instituting a nutrition plan for this offseason, and he is bringing in Matt Stimson and one other assistant coach while looking to retain the previous staff.
“They’re working through what they can do as far as schedules go if they can help, but I’m excited for what they can bring to the table,” he said.
Together, Wright and his assistants will look to employ a new style, pairing aggressive offense with patient defense.
“We will be a team that is aggressive and plays hard the entire game,” he said. “Therefore, we will be prepared and conditioned. Defensively, we might not be the most stacked in players and bodies. But we will be organized and patient.”
The players following that approach will include rising seniors, such as Uday Sujithkumar and Caleb Gahagan, but the Ads also return weapons like William Morris, Lukas Maier and Brody Dickerson with Parker Fuller in
goal.
“Probably the steadiest, most methodical, patient player we have,” he added of Dickerson. “It’s a roster I know well, so now I get to know them better and learn how they can compete under the pressure and strategy I’m going to give them as a coach.”
Beyond the aforementioned on-field strategy, Wright noted that he wants his players to follow the Matthew 7:12 principle.
“We’re going to play hard, treat our teammates with respect, have fun doing it and treat others the way we want to be treated,” Wright said. “This high school world is a different game than club. This fits me so well, I believe, because it’s balancing that student schedule and having a bit more focus on the character and integrity side — not just wins and losses. I want to win every game. But in three to five years and then 10 years’ time, these players will face decisions on marriage, jobs, being dads. I want them to be prepared for those times in their life as much or more than competing against Bearden and Hardin Valley.“
Along the way, though, he is hopeful that Farragut can churn out the same level of success it has seen in years’ past.
After all, those years helped lead Wright back to the program he loves.
“In taking over this position, I’m standing on some tall shoulders,” he said. “Most of the guys who’ve coached this program have had tremendous success. I will emulate and do so many things they did well.
“I had a hunger and a desire as an assistant coach because I’d gotten so close as a player,” he added. “I’ve had that taste, and I want these guys to experience it, too.”
