Photo courtesy of The Daily Herald

CHAPEL HILL– There’s a new man at the helm of the Chapel HillHigh School sports program. Tim Bennett replaced Tod Morgan, who is departing to assume the head basketball coach position at C.B. Aycock High School in Pikeville.

***Listen to the interview***

Tim Bennett

Like Morgan, new Director of Athletics Tim Bennett has served as a coach and a director. Bennett was football coach at Roanoke Rapids for 12 years and turned the losing football program around, qualifying for the playoffs six times in his final nine seasons.

Bennett says his time at Roanoke Rapids helped prepare him for his current role at Chapel Hill, albeit at a smaller scale.

“Chapel Hill’s a much bigger program – more sports, more coaches. But, at Roanoke Rapids, the six years I spent there as athletic director we had a pretty good program. We were very competitive in a lot of sports. It definitely helped me in preparation for this job. It’s just everything at Chapel Hill is on a bigger scale,” Bennett says.

What intrigued Bennett most about the open post at Chapel Hill High? He says a multitude of factors made it a fairly easy choice, not to mention Bennett is a local product.

“The past history, the tradition, the pride the athletic department has, the success. I’m also a local product over at Durham. I went to Northern High School and competed against Chapel Hill. I knew the high standards they have over here,” Bennett says.

One of Bennett’s first tasks to tackle was the new head coaching hire for the basketball team. Bennett hired previous assistant Lason Perkins on an interim basis and says he is pleased with the decision.

“He’s been around the program. He was with Coach Morgan when they were building the basketball program back up. During the process, he just stood out as someone who was ready. He wanted the opportunity. He’s in the building as a teacher. So, let’s give him a shot and see what he can do,” Bennett says.

Right now, Bennett says he’s enjoying meeting all the coaches and staff members. And he is happy to report the program is in a good place. Bennett says he is looking forward to continuing that legacy of success in the future.

“Just right now I’m getting to meet the coaches. I’ve got to meet all the winter coaches, and they told me about their programs. […] Right now, I feel like Chapel Hill is in good hands with the coaches that we have. I think we’ll just continue to work hard, be competitive, and have a successful program,” Bennett says.

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