Kendrick Cherokees hire new football coach

Kendrick High School has named Andre Slappey as its new head football coach. Slappey comes to Kendrick from Americus-Sumter High School, where he has been an assistant coach for 10 years.

Slappey’s hiring is his first chance to be a head coach. Along with coaching at Americus-Sumter, he was the defensive coordinator of the Albany Panthers of the Indoor Professional Football League from 2010 to 2013.

“When I applied, I saw a little film on Kendrick. I saw they had a few athletes that were moving around pretty good,” Slappey said. “I applied and wanted to see if I could bring something to the table to help these young men and try to get them pointed in the right direction.”

A graduate of Sumter County High School, Slappey played collegiately at Albany State. Over the course of his playing career, he received several accolades, including Albany State University Lineman of the Year in 1996, First-Team All-American status and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 1997 and finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy in 1998.

Slappey was invited to the NFL Combine in 1999 as one of the nation’s top 300 draft-eligible players. He signed a free-agent contract with the Carolina Panthers before playing offensive and defensive lineman for the Macon Knights and the South Georgia Wildcats in the indoor Arenafootball2 league from 2001 to 2008.

“(My playing experience) has a lot to do with (how I coach),” Slappey said. “When you get your players to tell you what they’re experiencing on the field, sometimes you can talk them through it because you’ve been in those situations. If they can communicate with them about it, then you can help them deal with the on-the-field stuff.”

Slappey takes over a Kendrick program that is seeking a resurgence. The Cherokees have gone 4-26 over the past three years and have not made the state playoffs since 2013.

“I want to come in and see if we can change the mindset, for one thing,” Slappey said. “I want to build up good-character young men and get them doing stuff a certain way.”

Slappey considers himself a hard worker and looks to instill that same mindset with the Cherokees moving forward.

“I believe in doing ways the right way,” Slappey said. “I believe in putting in the work to be successful. You don’t just show up and it happens. I’m ready to put in the work and do what it takes on my end in order for the program to turn around.”

This story was originally published February 22, 2018 at 2:54 PM with the headline "Kendrick Cherokees hire new football coach."