Coaching is an important profession. While they teach their athletes how to play their sport and how to continually improve themselves, they also serve another role. They are a part of the athletes daily life and the influence that they have on them can be immeasurable. Kevin Russell is the head coach of the Southeast High School girls cross country team and an assistant coach for the boys basketball team. He had a lot of influences on his life but one in particular was able to convince him to start coaching. “Walter Brewer is the reason I decided to get into coaching,” Russell said.

“He is the Southeast boys basketball coach and over the years, he has always been trying to get me to come back and coach and he finally got me. Throughout my life, I have had some great influences on my life. Guys like Brewer, Albert Warrior, Jerimiah Warrior, Gary Hayden, Jimmy Hines, Jimmy Black, and my dad Keith Russell. Each one of those coaches coached me at different levels in my life. They all had different coaching styles allowing for me to pick from which enabled me to create my own style. They always pushed me to be the best athlete I could be and I don’t think I would have made it to the collegiate level without them pushing me.”
Russell has been coaching at Southeast for two years. He is also a special education teacher and teaches in a self-contained classroom. Though he likes the sports he coaches, Russell says that there are other aspects of coaching that he enjoys.

“I like to see how the student athletes confidence progresses throughout the season,” he said. “It is really great to see the amount of improvement that they make. I love watching my team run in state has been the highlight of my coaching career. They make it easy for me to coach, because of their attitudes. The biggest takeaway that I want my athletes to know is to always try your best and never give up.”