Green selected as VDN’s Junior High Head Coach of the Year

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Louis Green has received the 2022 VDN “Coach Chip Award” which represents the Junior High Coach of the Year.

Green, Head Football Coach at Warren Central Junior High, led the Vikings to a 4-1 season after only winning a few games in 2021.

”I think the guys did very well and in junior high you hope for the best in the beginning because it seems like the kids get at the end but we only played five games and I believed they did really well,” Green said.

WCJHS started the season off with a loss but quickly made improvements and picked up some key wins over Terry, Madison Central and Germantown.

“We improved on all the little things including catching the ball and learning assignments on defense so by the time the season ended I was very pleased,” said Green

A sign that the Vikings were back on track was when they defeated Terry 50-8 while only playing their starters in half of the game. After their first taste of victory,  WC never fell behind in a performance for the remainder of the season.

Although Green called the major shots on the team, he credited his coaching staff for helping turn the boys into young men.

“It was nearly impossible to do the things we did without the help of the assistant coaches and even though this is an individual award, I wouldn’t be here interviewing without them because I have a great group of guys and they all work well with kids,” Green said.

In early October with one game left to play, Green continued to preach his same coaching method.

”Do something everyday to get better is something that we preach here because they grow so much in junior high,” Green said. “I’ve had kids in the past that didn’t play much when they were like Zack Evans who is a superstar in high school now and that’s what it’s all about because they can learn the game in junior high and stick with the program.”

WCJHS ended their season with a 20-0 win over Vicksburg Junior High and left things on a high note with their four-game winning streak.

Spending long hours working and coaching his team forced Green to miss out on some family things such as watching his ninth-grade son play this season.

“I didn’t realize until around the season started that I wouldn’t get to see my son play because we travel when they have home games but I was blessed to coach him last year and I have another son that is coming up but one of the hardest things is that you want to be just as tough on your own kid as you are on everyone else’s kid,” said Green. “My wife has been very supportive because sometimes it feels like I’m never at home and I thank her for all that she has done and she’s always there when I feel like I can’t do it anymore and she just keeps telling me to stick with so she’s definitely my rock.”

WCJHS had some big highlights this season by only allowing 12 points per game on defense and averaging 31.2 points on offense.

Green’s efforts to make sure his team succeeded on and off the field made the decision easy for him to be selected for the Coach Chip Award.

“As coaches, we don’t do it for money but just the simple joy of seeing our kids do well and this award is a great honor, especially with the award being named after Coach Chip. I had the chance to coach against him in the past and I can be the first one to say that you can see how well he worked with the kids and this is just a complete honor to be named the Junior High Coach of the Year,” said Green.

Green is a native of Fayette, Mississippi, and a graduate of Jefferson County High School and Alcorn State University. Green continued played in the NFL after college for the Denver Broncos.

The 2022 season was Green’s sixth year as Head Coach of WCJHS.