The T.R. Miller volleyball and softball teams will be under new leadership when they begin their next seasons as head coach Greg White has stepped down to spend more time with his family.
White has been coaching for 19 years, 18 years teaching and coaching and one as a graduate assistant, with the last 10 coming at T.R. Miller.
White began his coaching career in 1994 as a grad assistant at Tuscaloosa Academy. From there, White coached eight years (1995-2002) at Sheffield High School. From 2005-2015, White has been at TRM as he taught PE for eight years at Brewton Elementary School and the last two at Brewton Middle School.
White said his decision to step down stems from just wanting to be able to spend more time with his family.
“Doing this for the last 18 years has been an awesome experience and I have enjoyed every second of it,” White said. “However at this time I have two children (Anna Grace, 14 and Adam, 10) and a wonderful wife (Kim) and I just want to be able to spend more time with them and continue to watch my children grow up. And I feel like a change in my profession will hopefully allow me to do just that.”
“I have no regrets whatsoever. Being a T.R. Miller kid, all I ever wanted to do was come back home and coach at TRM and I was given that opportunity in 2005 by (Brewton City Schools superintendent) Mr. (Lynn) Smith, Coach (Jamie) Riggs and the late Mr. Donnie Rotch, and for that I am forever grateful.”
White said while stepping down as an educator and a coach, he is fortunate to have the opportunity to go back and work in his family’s business at B&W Auto Parts here in Brewton, a business his father started when White was 1-year-old.
“I just turned 45 (Sunday) so the business is 44 years old and still going strong,” White said. “My brother has been running the business for over 20 years and has done an outstanding job. I just want to come in and contribute to the business and help keep it going for many more years. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity to go back and work with my father and my brother on a daily basis. Not many people get to do that and I feel blessed to still have the opportunity to do it.”
While there have been many great memories during his tenure as a teacher and a coach, White said one of his favorite memories of volleyball is taking the 2010 team to the Elite 8 Championship.
“That was a great run and a very fun season,” White said. “That senior class was in the seventh grade when I became the BMS volleyball coach and when I became the varsity coach they were going in to the ninth grade. So to be their head coach in every game of their volleyball career at TRM and finishing up their career with the most successful season that TRM volleyball has ever had was very special.”
Another great memory White said is that of volleyball and being a part of 10 straight Escambia County Volleyball tournament championships.
“Coach Sharon Peacock won the first two tournaments for us when I was an assistant coach and I was fortunate to be head coach for the other eight,” White said. “That’s something the girls and I always took pride in. Hopefully they can keep it going.”
As for softball, one of White’s favorite memories came last season with the 2014 team.
White said that team was unique in that they had two seniors, one junior, and everyone else on the team was in the seventh, eighth and ninth grade.
“They were essentially a JV team with three upperclassmen who bonded together and believed in one another and went out there and played some good softball that season,” he said. “They were able to win the area championship for the first time since 2010 and advance to the regional tournament in Gulf Shores. Also getting an opportunity to coach my daughter this season was pretty special and something that I am grateful for.”
White said what he would miss about the coaching profession would be tough because there are so many thing.
“Probably the relationships formed with the players and the coaches I work with every day would be what I will miss,” he said. “The kids make this job fun. When you can get them to buy in to what you are teaching them and then to go out and execute it, it is very rewarding.”
As far as the coaches, White said each one puts a lot in to what they do and they spend countless hours together working to be better at what they do.
“Teaching PE with Kim Owens, Marc Edge and Eddie Brundidge over the years has been a blast and never a dull moment,” White said. “Coaching volleyball with Sharon Peacock and Kim Owens and softball with Kim and Dr. James (Cop) Walker and Terrill Neal has been great. Having people who share the same passion that you do and being on the same page together makes coaching that much more fun.
“And there’s not a better head football coach and athletic director in this state than Coach Riggs. I can’t say enough good things about him. He is T.R. Miller. The relationships that I formed with all of the coaches here at TRM is something that I will always cherish.”
White said he has no clue what his overall coaching record is in either sport and that never been important to him, but what have been important to him is the kids.
“I know we’ve won a lot more games than we have lost and that is a testament to the kids I have coached over the years,” White said. “What’s important to me is to convey to the kids how important it is to be a good teammate to each other, always practice and play as hard as you can, and how special a place TRM is. I’ve always asked them to have great pride about TRM and always represent it in a positive way on and off of the field. There are a lot of good schools out there but there is only one T.R. Miller. Go Tigers!”