Pinecrest Principal Dr. Beverly McAnulty said that the move was a mutual one between the school and the coach. She and Washington met with members of the football team on Wednesday before the official announcement.
Washington came to Pinecrest as an assistant to first-year head coach Binky Rankin before the start of the 2002 season. After Rankin resigned his position in May of 2003, Pinecrest graduate Bill Hall was selected to replace him. But a day later, the then-head football coach and athletic director at Northwood High School decided to stay where he was.
Washington was offered the post less than a month before the start of official practices for the 2003 season.
The Patriots were 1-10 overall and 0-7 in the Mid-Southeastern Conference in both of his years at the helm. They last won a conference game in 2002 during a 2-8 season under Rankin. They were 3-8 the year before that.
The coaching position is expected to be posted on the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Web site for two weeks.
McAnulty hopes to name a new coach by the end of February. Wednesday, she talked about the process.
“Obviously, there is a lot of work to be done to make this decision,” she said. “I want to do it as quickly as I can, but I want to do it carefully. It’s more than just hiring one individual. We want to look at it in terms of a whole football program, and look at what we’re going to put together in terms of a football coaching team.
“I will be talking to knowledgeable people about the recruiting process and the standards and guidelines we think are important. We will have an application process and a selection team. The final selection decision will be mine.”
In her second year as the principal at Pinecrest, she thinks the school has a lot to offer a coach. She wants to build a program like many of the other successful ones at the school.
“To me, it’s just a great school,” she said. “We have the students, the community and the resources. It takes a multi-faceted person to manage all those things. It’s not just about running plays. It’s about building relationships, not only within the school, but with the community itself.
“I do think it’s going to be somebody who looks forward to the challenge of really building a program. There are people out there who like to do that. I’m an administrator who likes to do that.”
Washington came to Pinecrest with 11 years of coaching experience, including a stint as the head coach at Terrell’s Bay High School in Centenary, S.C. He was a fourth-grade teacher at Aberdeen Elementary in his first two years here before moving over to the high school to teach computer skills this year.
Married and the father of three, he has been commuting to and from his home in Marion, S.C., since coming to Pinecrest.
The Sumter College (S.C.) graduate is currently considering a number of job possibilities closer to home. He feels he has learned a lot during his three years here.
“They play a different style of football here,” said the coach, who is an advocate of the wishbone, as was Rankin. “It is a more wide-open brand of football. In South Carolina it is more like three yards and a cloud of dust. But it was a great job and I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything in the world. I met some friends I think I’ll have forever. I’m thankful for everyone that supported me.”
McAnulty believes this community wants a successful football program. She recently talked to North Moore Principal Mike Tylavsky about the revival of the Mustang football program that went 6-5 this fall after being down for many years.
“We talked about the value of having a winning football team,” she said. “It can change the whole atmosphere at the school. It is a very energizing thing for the students and it can make a difference in a whole lot of areas. If you have a winning program with kids getting scholarships, then they know they have to get their grades up. I’m going to push kids academically. I want them to be academic athletes.”
