In a flurry of activity last week, Russellville High School announced four new head coaches to lead varsity athletic programs.
Madison Lamon will lead the volleyball team, Tyler Malone will take over the girls’ golf program, Lee-Taylor Bishop was named the boys’ tennis coach, and Emily Evans will serve as cross country coach. Three of the four are Russellville High School alumni, and all four have some connection to the program they were picked to lead.
“Where they came from didn’t really matter when we were looking for candidates for these different positions,” Russellville athletic director Dustin Goodwin said. “Fortunately we did have some people who we knew would do a really good job that were already here. Some were already helping in programs already, and we thought they were ready to take the next step to start leading a program and so we gave them that opportunity.
“Our biggest deal is we want to surround our student-athletes with great people who are going to be professional, do things the right way, and give our kids every opportunity they can to be successful,” Goodwin added. “I think the candidates we narrowed these positions down to and ultimately hired are really good fits for Russellville and will do a really great job.”
Madison Lamon, a 2017 graduate of Russellville High School, is stepping in to take over the varsity volleyball program following the departure of Will White, who is now an assistant coach at Freed-Hardeman University.
“I’m really thankful for the opportunity to come back and lead these girls,” Lamon said. “This program gave a lot to me and helped me become the woman I am today.
“I really just want to give back to the program that gave so much to me,” she added. “I’m really thankful to have the opportunity to lead this team because I have a strong passion for this program and girls athletics in general.”
Lamon is a more recent graduate of the Mississippi University for Women where she played four seasons on the Owls’ volleyball team. According to the MUW sports information department, she is the program’s current career record holder in total assists with 882. After graduating with a degree in education from MUW in 2021, Lamon joined Russellville City Schools. She currently teaches sixth-grade science at Russellville Middle School.
Since coming back to her alma mater Lamon has been involved in the volleyball program, coaching the junior varsity team. She believes her youth and the relationship she’s already built with her players will be advantageous as she enters her first season as the head coach.
“I’ve already coached all of them because I started out coaching JV when I first got here,” she said. “I feel like I’ve already gotten that respect from them already, and I feel like they can relate more to me because I am younger and I have gone through what they’re going through.”
As an insider Lamon has also been privy to the preseason preparations.
“We’ve had some play dates already, so I’ve been able to see what we need to improve on,” she said. “It also showed me some really good things that I think we can capitalize on, as well.
“As we figure out who works best together on the court in each position we’ll figure out what will be most beneficial for our team and what will help us to excel,” Lamon added.
If Russellville is to reach the level of excellence it is aiming for this season Lamon said the team will be relying on the performances and leadership abilities of a handful of its older players.
“Lalia Hill—she’ll be going into the 11th grade—I think has come a long way, and I think she’ll be a big asset to us,” Lamon said. “I really do think she could be one of the ones that pulls through for us throughout the year.
“I’ve also got three seniors this year—that’s Haylee Rikard, Kaylee Garner, and Hope Bonman— and I’ve already talked to them about being leaders and holding the other girls accountable,” she added. “I think they’ll do a great job leading our team.”
One of the priorities for Russellville this year, Lamon said, will be team and individual development, not just on the court but off it, too.
“We’re going to have team goals, specifically, and then personal goals,” she said. “I want them to work on bettering themselves on the court and outside, as well. I want them focusing on their academics and in class because obviously they’re not going to be able to play if they don’t have their grades up.
“Being an active member of the community, being a role model for younger players—we want to emphasize things like that, as well,” Lamon added.
As the season inches closer—Russellville’s first matches are scheduled for August 22nd—Lamon said the Golden Tigers will continue pushing to improve in the hopes of enjoying success like the program has had in the past.
“I was on the team that went to regionals back in 2016 and we haven’t been back since,” Lamon said. “I’d like for us to get back to that point where we can win the area, go to regionals, and then advance to state.”
Tyler Malone, also no stranger to the Golden Tigers, was selected to lead the girls’ golf team last week. After spending a year as an assistant under head coach of the boys’ golf team, Patrick Odom, Malone received his promotion to head coach of the girls’ team.
A 2009 graduate of Russellville High School, Malone spent five years at Haleyville where he was a part of two Class 4A boys’ golf state championship teams before coming back to coach at his alma mater.
“The opportunity came to come back home to Russellville and work with Coach Odom, who I’ve known for a long time and is really close to me and been a mentor to me,” Malone, who is also an assistant under Odom on the varsity boys’ basketball team, said. “We worked together last year with golf with me in a different role. It’s kind of special to try to build the program with him.
“We’re going to try to build this program and try to establish the girls’ team like the boys’ program has been established,” he added.
One of Malone’s first steps will be to try to increase participation and enthusiasm around the program.
“One of the main things, I think, is going to be getting girls excited and getting girls out to build a team,” he said. “We want to build a team where they can be with their friends and be competitive.”
From there, Malone said, the objective will be to lay the foundations for a consistently successful program in the future.
“I know the girls four or five years ago advanced to sub-state, so that’s what we want and that’s what we’re chasing after,” he said. “Hopefully we can build to that and make that the baseline. Once we make that normal then the obvious next goal is state.
“We’ve got to take it one step at a time and right now the first step is getting girls out, getting them excited, and getting them playing.”
Lee-Taylor Bishop, who was previously assisting with the Russellville varsity girls’ tennis team, is moving over to head up the boys’ tennis squad. A graduate of Shoals Christian Academy, Bishop played three years of college tennis at North Alabama while earning her degree in elementary education. She knows the game as a player, but she’s also familiar with the coaching side of it. Bishop’s father, Brice, over three stints, served 20 combined years as head coach of the UNA tennis program, and she has siblings in the profession, as well. Coaching, she said, feels like a natural fit.
“I’ve always wanted to stay around sports. Growing up my dad coached and my brother and sister have all been coaches. It’s something I’ve been around my whole life,” said Bishop, who teaches fourth grade at Russellville Elementary. “One of the reasons I went into education was so that it would be possible for me to have this kind of opportunity, so this is really special and it means a lot to me.”
Bishop has seen the success of both the girls’ and boys’ tennis teams in her year at Russellville and said she is looking to continue that trend.
“This is something that I’ve always wanted to do,” Bishop said. “Coming in last year and working under Coach (Charlotte) Dollar, she has really inspired me to lead this program to the best of my ability, and I know that I’ll have her guidance.”
The boys’ and girls’ tennis teams at Russellville spend a lot of time in close proximity, so Bishop’s players will be familiar with her. She said the relationships she’s already built with them will make the transition easier.
“Being here the last year I think I’ve already established that trust with the boys,” she said. “They know me. They know what I expect going in. They know that I just want them to work hard, and I want us to be successful. I think because I’ve worked with them before, knowing what I expect is going to really help us come out strong.
“I expect everyone to come in with an open mind and work hard. As long as they’re working hard and giving me their best ability they’re going to improve,” Bishop added.
Rounding out Russellville’s varsity appointments is Emily Evans, who was put in charge of the cross country team. Evans, who manages the Russellville Municipal Airport and owns Go Vertical Aviation with her husband Jason, accepted the role after coach Larsen Plyler stepped away due to health reasons. Evans, whose son Connor is a member of the cross country team, said she sees her role as more administrative, but she wants to continue to build on the gradual momentum that’s been growing in the program over the last few years.
“When our son Connor started running in eighth grade there were barely enough people out to have a team,” she said. “It was a very, very small team, but it’s grown to the point where we have about 50 athletes this year.
“Last year, to my knowledge, was the first year that our boys team has qualified for state. Our goal this year is for our girls, who actually did pretty well in sectionals last year, to qualify for state, too,” Evans added. “What we want to see from all the hard work is our girls qualify for state as a team and the boys finish in the top three at state. Of course we’d love to win it, but those are our two main goals we’re pushing this year.
“They can do it. They have the potential, and they’ve definitely been putting in the work running all summer long and putting in the miles to accomplish that.”
In addition to the four varsity head coaching hires, Russellville announced two new head coaches to lead the middle school programs. Dylan Seabolt was named athletic director for RMS and will lead the football team. Luke Baker will be the new RMS baseball coach.
