By Kris Freeman
White House Football

Read the feature story on Coach Hamilton here

Sports, football included, is often referred by athletes and coaches as a "battle" or "war" between two teams. In truth, it's far from the harsh reality of actual combat - and no one knows that difference better than White House High School's newest assistant football coach.

Mike Hamilton, a former standout center at Hunters Lane High School in the late 1990s, was named an assistant on Coach Jeff Porter's staff this season and will begin teaching his second year at WHHS this fall.

But following his college graduation at Western Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in History, Mike enlisted in the United States Army - included a tour of Iraq in 2003-04, as part of the 18th Airborne Corps and 20th Engineer Brigade of Ft. Bragg, NC. He was trained as a combat engineer and paratrooper and served as a Sapper Platoon Leader, stationed for approximately one year in Mosul, north of Baghdad, during the war that continues in that country to this day.

"I was already signed up when Sept. 11, 2001, took place," said Hamilton of the reality that combat might be a part of his military service. "Being in the Army taught me a lot about leadership, a lot about taking responsibility and thinking on your feet in a tough environment. "I went to college with the idea to teach from the beginning, but you might say I got a little sidetracked," he added with a smile. Coach Porter believes time in the military will be a huge asset to him in his career.

"He may be a strong mentally as it comes," said the White House head coach. "He'll be able to bring a perspective to the kids that obviously some of us who have not served in the military cannot. There will be some great stories and teaching tools during his coaching career.

"We just had a huge need in our program and he will be utilized both with the varsity and freshman programs, and will be helping Coach (Jim) Grantham on offense and Coach (Mike) Dawson on defense, as well as his responsibilities with Coach (Calvin) Short and the freshman team." Hamilton joins a veteran Blue Devil staff - both hired coaches and volunteer assistants - and one of those men is his younger brother, Ryan Hamilton, who played at White House during a portion of the time Mike was in college. He will join Ryan in assisting the freshman team, especially on the offensive and defensive lines, where he specialized as a player at Hunters Lane.

Ryan transferred from Hunters Lane during high school and played two years (1999-2000) for the Blue Devils as a split end and then the starting quarterback his senior year. He is a volunteer assistant on the Blue Devil staff.

"The biggest thing you get with the both of them is two men who are strong in character and both have a tremendous amount of love and respect for our program," said Coach Porter of the coaching siblings.

"Being able to coach with my brother, that was a big deal to me," said Mike, who recently moved to Cross Plains where he currently resides. "Coach Porter asked, said he needed extra help in the program, both on the field and in the weight room and field house with equipment and other things, and I am happy to get the chance."

This will be Hamilton's second coaching job overall, as he will also serve again this season as the freshman girls head basketball coach for the Blue Devils, a role he began in 2000-06.

As he stepped onto the field in August for the team's first official scrimmage against David Lipscomb, he noted his impression of the White House program, which has been to the TSSAA state playoffs for 21 of the last 22 years, including a state championship and numerous quarterfinal and semifinal appearances.

The Blue Devils also have a very large staff and support staff to work with the program.

"I also had a cousin, Todd Stephens, which played here, but I didn't know a lot about White House football," Hamilton said. "I'm very impressed with the structure of the program and how thorough each of the responsibilities are, along with the amount of legwork that goes in to making this program a success."

Mike is thrilled to be a part of the White House program and plans to make teaching and coaching at WHHS a habit.