New titles, same faces; Tallulah Falls soccer ready for the GHSA
TALLULAH FALLS, Ga. (BVM) — The 2021 spring soccer season will be a time of newness for the Tallulah Falls Indians. They will be joining the Georgia High School Association (GHSA) after years of competition in the Georgia Independent School Association. And this fresh slate for the boys program will be led by a new head coach. Jeremy Stille, who served last season as an assistant for the Indians, will be the new lead man.
Stille is a social studies teacher at the high school, but a soccer player at heart. He grew up playing club level soccer in the metro-Atlanta area, and earned the chance to play four years as a midfielder for the Division III Piedmont College Lions. He couldn’t stay away from the game afterwards, coaching boys soccer at both Gainesville High School and White County High School, with his career eventually landing him with the Indians.
On paper, Stille looks deserving of the promotion. Everywhere he’s gone, success has seemed to follow. His senior season at Piedmont, he started 18 of 19 possible games, finishing second on the team with 25 points; 10 goals and five assists. As head coach at White County High School, he coached up three winning seasons, the school’s first ever playoff appearance, and won 2016 region coach of the year.
And while he will officially be titled head coach, Stille wants it to be known that he is not in this alone. In his opinion, he will simply be trying to continue instilling the attributes previous head coach Brett Adams had been working on with the team. Adams will remain with the Indians as an assistant coach, working side-by-side with Stille.
“Brett isn’t currently a teacher at Tallulah Falls, so being on campus allows me more access to the student-athletes…I get to see them on a daily basis,” Stille said. “Brett will still be a coach with me and I want him to be a coach with me. He does an excellent job. It’s just one of those things where we are transitioning coaching titles.”
Stille says their goals as a staff will remain the same. The new head coach says that Adams was driving home mental toughness and the willingness and want to compete. More than ever, that’ll be important this season when their games will have some added meaning. As an independent school in previous years, there was nothing to play for at the end of the season.
“Last year we played competitive games, but they didn’t count towards playoffs or a tournament,” Stille said. “So it made it hard for these guys to get a mental competitiveness because there’s no trophy at the end that they are fighting for.”
On top of their objectives on the pitch, Stille has big things planned for his athletes off of the field. Having played collegiately and currently being a teacher, he understands the true meaning of sports beyond what you are able to achieve as a player. He wants to make sure he is investing his coaching into forming young men.
“I want them to develop and grow in their communication and sportsmanship,” Stille said. “Also, it’s important to me that they know their focus is in the classroom and then on the field.”
However, Stille thinks that the biggest thing that’ll separate his team from others will be their bond. He says that at Piedmont, he formed a special relationship with his teammates and because of that, wanted to lay it all on the line for them when he was on the field. Coach Adams started team bonding trips last season with the Indians, like going to watch Clemson play, and Stille wants to continue these efforts.
“The stronger they form their friendship and sense of family among each other, the harder they’ll fight for each other on the field.” Stille said.
As the Indians gear up for GHSA competition, their values will be held in check by their two-headed coaching staff of Stille and Adams. Success on the field will be held in high regard; their first chance to compete in postseason play will bring out the competitor in them all. But they won’t lose sight of what really matters.
“I love seeing the young men they become not only on the field, but the things they do long after I’m done coaching them and what they are able to accomplish in life.” Stille said.
