The Vance County High School’s new athletic director has been on the job just over a week, but in that short time, Philip Weil has learned a good deal about its coaches, its student athletes and their desire and determination.
Right now, it’s all about football, but Weil has his eyes and ears on volleyball and soccer, cross country and baseball.
If it has to do with sports and Vance County High School, Weil is ready.
Coming from an urban setting like Las Vegas to a rural area may take some getting used to, but Weil has already found one advantage: Vance County has history.
He switched on the lights at the football field on a recent evening and was wowed by what he saw. “It was gorgeous.”
As he gets to know the process of being an AD, understand the school atmosphere and the sports conference, Weil said he wants to get the community more involved.
One thing he’d like to do is have some high school basketball games held in the gym at the middle school campus. After all, it used to be the home of the Northern Vance Vikings.
But right now, it’s football.
“From what I’ve seen so far from Coach Elliott’s team, they are determined and strong,” Weil said. He called their first tackling practice last week “phenomenal,” in fact.
“I think they are determined to get that state championship.”
As a middle-school baseball and football coach from 2013-22, Weil said he was able to develop student athletes’ skills by getting them involved in a strength and conditioning program.
“Scholarships are made in the weight room,” he said. It wasn’t always easy to get those middle schoolers interested in weight training, but he said the student athletes here at VCHS are motivated.
“They just want to get better and stronger and faster,” he said.
