Boiling Springs High School introduces new football coach, Matt Reel
Boiling Springs High School has officially introduced Matt Reel as its football coach at a news conference Friday morning.
"It just feels like there’s an energy here right now. There’s a want here right now to win a lot of football games and for us to mold these young men into the people that we know they should be and that’s why I’m here," Reel said.
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Reel comes to the Bulldogs from North Myrtle Beach High School, where he served as the head coach for the Chiefs for the past five seasons.
His time at North Myrtle Beach led to a lot of interest in him, but Reel said the Boiling Springs job was special.
"I've had opportunities these last two or three years, based off our success, to go other places, but nothing ever felt like the right fit or the right time," Reel said. "I called my wife after the first interview and I told her we need to start making some serious plans over the next couple of weeks because if they offer it to me, this is is the one that makes me feel like it's our next place and it could be our last place."
A native of Western North Carolina and a graduate of Limestone University, Reel's approach to helping the Bulldogs bounce back from a tough 2021 season -- they finished 1-10 -- is all about toughness and physical domination.
"I believe in us being the most conditioned and strongest football team on the field every time we get there," he said. "I don't know if we can do that right now, but that's what we're going to be as we get further through this."
As for how that approach will manifest on the field, Reel said, "Our teams on the coast played great defense. We had a top five defense in the state every single year. We ran the football and we imposed our will on people, and that's what we're going to try and do here at Boiling Springs."
Many times a football coach's success in implementing their vision can be impeded by the a lack of support from the administration and other powers that be, but Reel said he believes he'll have full support from the Boiling Springs decision makers
"Their vision has been amazing. It was one of the first things that really struck me when I sat down in that first interview. What their vision is for this school and more importantly what it is for the football program, I think they are 110% committed to whatever it is I need to do to make that happen.
"To me that was one of the major selling points of me wanting to uproot myself from where I was at North Myrtle and make the jump here and I'm just super excited." Reel said.
As for the rest of his coaching staff, Reel said that's a work in progress. He indicated the possibility of bringing some of his former assistants at North Myrtle Beach to the Upstate, but said there will be a delay because several of those coaches have applied for the position he left vacant.
The current staff at Boiling Springs is set to be evaluated.
"We'll do a lot of interviewing over the next two weeks and make some really good decisions about this program. If there's deficiencies, then we're going to address them and make this thing as strong as it can possibly be for these players," Reel said.
Reel has made the move to the Boiling Springs area and has officially begun his tenure.
This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Boiling Springs High School introduces Matt Reel as football coach
