If you noticed a buzz around the Kingsport community this week, it very well may have been due to the naming of the new Dobyns-Bennett head football coach, long-time D-B assistant coach, Joey Christian.  Coach Christian was selected from a field of talented candidates to assume the reins as head coach of the Tribe.

This week in the Saturday Six, let’s learn more about Coach Christian, the new head of the Tribe… a dedicated family man, educator, and coach.

1. Coach Christian is married to his wife Stacy, a first grade teacher at Jefferson Elementary School.  They have two children… Chloe is a senior at D-B who will attend the University of Tennessee – Knoxville in the fall, and Carson, is a 7th grader at Robinson Middle School.
2. Coach grew up in Surgoinsville, attending Surgoinsville Elementary and Middle Schools, then playing football at Volunteer High School, where he graduated in 1989.  Coach Christian played football for the East Tennessee State University Buccaneers for three seasons, 1989-1991, and graduated in 1993 with a B.A. in Business Administration.  In 1997, he earned his Master’s degree in Arts and Teaching, with a focus on secondary education.
3. During his playing career, Coach’s preferred position was offensive tackle, which prepared him well for his tenure coaching the entire offensive line.  Christian believes that the success of any team’s offense lies in the hands of the offensive line, and he loves working with the young men who form this critical unit.
4. For Coach Christian, life isn’t just about football.  It’s also about enjoying time with friends and family.  He loves to trout fish and enjoys taking family hikes.  The Christian family vacations include “going anywhere” and annual treks to the beach, in which the coach admittedly likes to “sit on the beach and do nothing!”
5. When asked about the best lesson he ever learned from Coach Graham Clark, he responded that there were too many to list, but one thing that stood out in his mind was to always work hard for the kids.
6. As he begins his new role leading the D-B Football program, Coach Christian’s coaching philosophy is three-fold:
   • Help each member of the team be the best at the fundamentals of the game.
   • Encourage each member to work hard and give 100% effort at every practice, in every scrimmage, and in every game.
   • Teach the players to approach the game with a mindset of being physical for each play.

Congratulations, Coach!  We can’t wait to kick off the 2018 season with you on August 17, 2018 as the Tribe hosts the defending state champion Greeneville Green Devils in J. Fred Johnson Stadium.  Roll Tribe!