After Coach David Green’s well-deserved retirement, Green Hope Football handed the reins, whistle, and large Falcon fan base over to a new coach. Since he has just experienced his first day at our school, we decided to sit down and interview Coach Chris Tolbert.

Q: Tell us about yourself (family, teaching, etc.)

A: “I am married and have a fourteen year old son who attends Heritage Middle School, plays lacrosse and football;  he also will be coming here next fall. I have coached football for over 20 years, which seems like a long time. I’m a football coach, that’s all I do. I was born in Mississippi and my dad was in the Air Force so we moved around a little bit and lived near some air force bases, and I love going to the beach.”

Q: What made you come to Green Hope? 

A: “I’ve known the Athletic Director for a while and I wasn’t really looking for a job, but he called and we met and discussed the possibility a little bit. He brought me over to meet Dr. Hedrick, and then it was a done deal. She is awesome; one of the most rockstar principals I have ever been around. Meeting her and seeing how important athletics was to her, that was a no brainer for me.”

Q: What coaching experience have you previously had?

A: “I have coached at every level except for NAI. In the area I’ve coached at Louisburg Junior College, which is just north of Raleigh. I’ve coached [at] Cardinal Gibbons, Wake Forest High School, Ravenscroft, and Lafayette Highschool and I’ve also coached at Christopher Newport University and Mississippi State College, so I’ve done a little bit of everything.”

Q: What is your favorite thing about coaching football?

A: “My favorite thing and one of the things that brought me back to high school which I realized at Louisburg, is that I missed the four year experience with guys. Louisburg is a Junior College so we would have guys for a year, maybe two and I felt like I was getting guys prepared, but I had to do it at a very fast rate, and I never had the payoff. So I’m really looking forward to getting back to the four year experience and helping guys realize their full potential and turn into men at some point.”

Q: What’s your biggest goal in the 2022 season?

A: “To continue the development of our team and our program, the guys have been great, and we’ve had a huge turnout in the weight room in the afternoons. So I really think we’re off on a positive note and attendance has been really high and everyones been working hard and attitudes are out of this world. And just having guys that work hard and are here on time and prepared is half the battle.”

Q: If you were to describe your coaching style, what would it be?

A: “I’m not a drill sergeant by any means but I like to have fun and there’s a time to work and there’s also a time to have fun and I want to be able to do all of that stuff. I want to be a teacher of the game, I don’t want to just line up and say we’re gonna run cover 3, I want them to know why and what it means. That’s because if I can get the guys to be better students of the game then I’ll have more coaches on the field.”

Overall, Coach Tolbert is confident for next season, and he looks forward to begin work with the Falcons.