Coach R. Hamilton

Ryan Hamilton

Offensive Backs – Defensive Line

Transitioning from the huddle to the sideline is a role Ryan Hamilton is learning to be more comfortable with. And this year will be his second as a full-time assistant at White House High School, serving on a staff with men who used to coach him at the varsity level.

Ryan is familiar to the program and the school on two fronts, serving as a volunteer assistant coach before 2007, while also playing his final two years at White House as the quarterback for the varsity team, graduating in 2001. The Blue Devils were 18-7 in his final two years with a trip to the 2000 quarterfinals, after starting the season 0-3, he and his teammates won nine straight games before falling in the third round of the playoffs.

Hamilton is one of three former players on the current Blue Devils full-time staff, joining Mark Lamberth and James Honeycutt. But the most familiar face on the sidelines is one Ryan grew up with, and the other newest coach – his older brother Mike – a former U.S. Army veteran who joined the staff full-time in 2006. On the field, the Hamiltons, had they played together, would have made a good combo – as Mike was a standout center for Hunters Lane, where Ryan transferred from before his junior year to White House.

Ryan also enjoys the opportunity to teach kids, and will do so after graduating Middle Tennessee State University in 2006 with a degree in Health and Human Performance. He teaches Wellness at White House High School.

Q: What is the best part about coaching at White House and teaching at this school and in this community?

A: “This is such a good community. I moved up here by junior and senior year and I have loved it ever since, and I want to give back what I got out of it.”

Q: When you are not specifically coaching your players on Friday night, what types of things catch your attention during the game?

A: “I love to watch what the other team is doing defensively and get some input back to Coach Grantham of anything that I see, and trying to keep all the kids in the game and motivate the team on the sidelines.”

Q: The staff at White House has been together as a whole for a long time. What are some of the things you notice that the general fan does not get to see about this staff and this program?

A: “How much time they put in – I don’t think people realize how much time they put into the program, both during the season and off-season. They game-plan on Sunday before the games, they’re really good at working together and putting together the best chance we have to go out there and win.”

Q: What is the biggest thing you notice about incoming freshmen when they are first exposed to the program?

A: “It’s fun to see where they start, technique-wise and then help them progress from sophomore to senior year. I like to see how much they have improved, how much they understand the game and gain through us and the program itself. It’s really a pleasure to see a kid be successful who a lot of people didn’t think could make it.”

Q: What is the biggest change in kids from the time they arrive in the program until they graduate?

A: “It’s a really big character building experience and a lot of things I have learned came from this program. I like watching them grow in this community and come back and be a part of what has been so good to them.”

Q: There is a hallway in the fieldhouse with pictures of past players, teams and their accomplishments. Do you ever stop and take a glimpse of the past?

A: “All the time. I stop and talk to people and sometimes they will tell me about others they know that have been through here. It’s great to see people that have been through here, things they have achieved and see a player desire to have their picture up there some day and be able to work hard and get it.”

Coaching profiles by Kris Freeman are the property of White House High School football. For more on the coaching staff, visit www.whitehousefootball.com .