By: Sam McClanahan
A familiar face to Pendleton County High School athletics in recent years will be starting a new chapter of life as he transitions to the role of head coach.
Clay Monroe, a graduate from the PCHS class of 2020, recently celebrated his 21st birthday and was also officially named as the new head coach for the Wildcats golf program. Monroe was a standout performer for the program during his varsity career and takes the reins from his older brother Mason, who stepped down to focus on his new role as the boys head varsity basketball coach. Monroe explained that he's excited for the opportunity to share his knowledge onto the present and future varisty athletes.
"It means a lot to be able to give back to the program that I came up in. Pendleton County golf has been very good historically with dozens of players having competed in the state championship. I had two great golf coaches in Josh Plummer and Tim Cooper that I looked up to. And I'm in a unique stage in my life where I'm in my final semester of college and have a job that gave me the blessing to pursue this," Monroe said.
Monroe will look to maintain the high level of performance that the Wildcats have produced through the years. Although he will be among the youngest head coaches from across the state, his knowledge of the game as well as being around his older brother as well as his father Kent, who also has many years of coaching experience himself, have prepared him for the job.
"Golf is a great game to learn. It's one of few you can take with you after high school. It's a great life teacher. It's very rewarding, but it can humble you very quickly. I know we have a lot of upper classmen on the team that have started playing recently. We also have a some young talent as well. I am happy to see the golf numbers increasing. I know when I was in high school we barely had enough to field a team. I am looking forward to working with these guys."