By Justin Jarrett
LowcoSports.com
After a successful run as offensive coordinator at Whale Branch Early College High School, Adam Kinloch is going home.
Kinloch was approved as the next head football coach at Colleton County High School by the school board last week, replacing Kristopher Howell.
“It’s my dream job,” Kinloch said. “I’m ready to give back to my community.”
Kinloch is a native of Green Pond and attended Colleton County High School, where his father, the late Greg Kinsey, was assistant head coach from 2002- 06 following a stint as head coach at Ruffin High School from 1997 until its closure in 2002.
He received an undergraduate degree from South Carolina State University in 2013 and added a master’s degree in counselor education in 2017, and he is in the process of attaining another master’s in physical education from The Citadel.
Kinloch has worked in the Beaufort County School District since Aug. 2013, first as a behavior management specialist and, since 2017, as a professional school counselor. He was an assistant football coach at May River High School from 2017-20 before joining Jerry Hatcher’s staff at Whale Branch as offensive coordinator and recruiting coordinator in 2020.
The Warriors went 16-5 in the first two seasons with Kinloch on staff before finishing 6-5 in a 2022 season derailed by season-ending injuries to two of team’s top two-way players at running back and linebacker.
Now he inherits a program that struggled to a 1-9 record this season after going winless in five region games in an abbreviated 2021 campaign. Kinloch’s first priority is bringing together a coaching staff who can help him rebuild the foundation needed to get the Cougars back on competitive ground.
“My No. 1 goal is to shape the lives of student-athletes through the great game of football,” Kinloch said, “so that when they leave Colleton County High School they are leaving with a solid foundation for success.”
Justin Jarrett is the sports editor of The Island News and the founder of LowcoSports.com. He was the sports editor of the Island Packet and the Beaufort Gazette for 6½ years. He has a passion for sports and community journalism and a questionable sense of humor.
