By Brackin Lambert
There will be some new faces on the sidelines at Battery Creek this season. The Dolphins had a busy offseason, as athletics director Sarah Hayes has announced six coaching staff changes for the 2021-22 school year.
Billy Allen (baseball), Summer Dupont (cross country), Ally Keane (swimming), Michael Jordan (track and field) and Torri McCullough (volleyball) all resigned their positions before the end of the school year, but Hayes is pleased with the qualified, experienced coaches who will take the reins.
New volleyball coach Michael Paul was hired before the end of the spring semester and adds almost 30 years of coaching experience to Creek’s coaching staff. Prior to his time at BCHS he was the head coach at Wade Hampton High School for three seasons after spending eight seasons at Jefferson High School as its volleyball coach.
“We are excited about the hiring of Coach Paul as our new volleyball coach,” Hayes said. “His experience and record of success will certainly build upon and continue the success of our volleyball program here at Battery Creek.”
Kimberly Trapp, the daughter of legendary tennis coach Larry Scheper, has mastered the game of tennis and is currently working toward obtaining further professional certification in tennis instruction. A four-time tennis state champion at Dutch Fork High School, she has a great passion for both playing and instructing the game of tennis.
“We are very excited to announce the hiring of coach Kimberly Trapp as our new tennis coach,” Hayes said. “Her experience as a player and her excitement to teach and develop our student-athletes makes her a great addition to our coaching staff.”
Jared Eddy has been handed the reins of the cross country team. Eddy began his running career at Chattanooga Central High School in Tennessee and as part of the Chattanooga Jets Track Club. During his four years in high school, he was a two-time state medalist in the 4X400m relay at the Tennessee Indoor State Championships, an AAU National Qualifier in the 3000m, an all-region cross country selection, and placed seventh in the 4X800m at the Tennessee State Championship.
“I could not be more excited to add coach Eddy to the Battery Creek coaching staff,” Hayes said. “His experience at the collegiate level along with his enthusiasm will make him a great addition to the Battery Creek family.”
Emily Raymonda takes over for Keane and has plenty of experience to continue to add to a strong Battery Creek swim program.
“I am so excited to add someone of the caliber of coach Raymonda,” Hayes said. “Her enthusiasm, her drive and her excitement to join this program makes her an ideal fit with our Creek family. I look forward to seeing what she can do with our student athletes.”
Raymonda began her swimming career during her middle school days in Bel Air, Md., and quickly earned local and state rankings in the 200m backstroke and the relay events. Raymonda attended Winthrop University, where she was instrumental in reinstating the swim club in Rock Hill. She currently serves as the Visual Arts teacher at Beaufort Middle School where she coaches the Gryphons’ girls soccer team.
Daryl Daleen takes over for the departing Jordan and will inherit a strong track and field program coming off a region championship.
“Coach Daleen is going to make a great addition to our coaching staff,” Hayes said. “I am excited to see what he brings to our track and field team. His enthusiasm and excitement for the program’s future is what made him the ideal candidate.”
Daleen, a graduate of Newberry College, has a number of years of experience at both the high school and collegiate level. His most recent stop was Pikeville (Ky.) College, where he was the head track and field coach.
Lastly, Chad Schildt will take over in the dugout for the Dolphins. The baseball team’s 2021 coaching staff will be retained and will look to rebuild a program that went 6-12 last season.
A native of Taneytown, Md., he attended Mt. Saint Mary’s University and earned a bachelor’s degree in History while playing baseball. Schildt then returned home to coach at his high school alma mater, Francis Scott Key, where he coached baseball, basketball, and football. In 2008, he moved to Myrtle Beach and began coaching baseball at Carolina Forest. After spending 10 years at Carolina Forest, he then moved to Laurel, Miss., where he was tasked with rebuilding the baseball program.
“I am very excited to announce the hiring of Coach Schildt to lead our baseball program,” Hayes said. “The experience he brings from his time at Laurel and Carolina Forest is exactly what we need to build this program.”
