PV’s Hood honored
- Updated: January 19, 2017
Lady Raiders’ coach named state girls coach of the year by national coaches group
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
JACKSONVILLE — Brad Hood got a letter the other day from the Wake Forest women’s cross country program.
At first he thought it was a recruiting inquiry about one of his track state champions. Boy, was he wrong.
It was a letter to Hood directly, congratulating him on being named the Alabama state girls cross-country coach of the year by the USTFCCCA, a lot of letters that mean the national coaches association.
Hood led the Lady Raiders to their second straight state championship last fall. They did not lose a scored meet.
Those factors, plus the facts they were the lowest ranked team to win a state title (No. 3), the first public school to win 3A and didn’t even have a team three years ago all contributed to his winning the award.
“It was kind of a shocker,” Hood said. “I thought it was maybe looking at Rachel (Faucett) for high jump or something.
“It’s nothing I did. We were just blessed with kids who love to work.”
On the heels of promising the team a trip to Disney World if they won in 2015, Hood promised it a cruise if they won this past year. He is currently looking at a trip in May, although the dates may conflict with the softball playoffs some of runners will be involved with.
The girls also will return to Disney World after that trip last year was cancelled due to a hurricane. The Alabama boys coach recognized by the group was from Scottsboro.
“To get some national notoriety as state coach, it’s just awesome,” PV principal Mark Proper said. “He deserved it. You tell (players) if they do the little things and work as a team, accolades will come for you, and that’s what he’s done. To me, he is the coach of the year.”
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