Macy Wilbanks was recently named athletics director/testing coordinator for Kosciusko High School after longtime teacher and former head baseball coach Kevin Pullen retired from the AD position at the end of the 2015-16 school year.
Wilbanks, who had been an assistant coach for the Kosciusko slow and fastpitch team since 2012, also taught English and was the PLC leader for the English Department. Wilbanks, who graduated from Carthage High School, received her Bachelor of Science degree from Mississippi State University in 2004 while majoring in Secondary Education (Speech Education) and received her Master of Science degree from MSU in 2006 while majoring in Physical Education (Sports Administration).
She was a graduate assistant for the MSU intramurals/RecPlex from July 2004 through May of 2006 before becoming an assistant slow and fastpitch coach at Columbus High School in 2006.
She served as the head slow and fastpitch coach from 2007 until 2009 at Columbus before becoming an assistant with the fastpitch team again in 2011. Wilbanks left Columbus for Louisville High School in 2012 where she was a volunteer assistant for the slowpitch and fastpitch teams.
Wilbanks received her Educational Specialist degree from MSU in July of 2013.
“When I came out of college, I finished with a Sports Administration degree and had worked with the intramural program while I was there (MSU)”, said Wilbanks. I had originally planned to work on the college level doing that same sort of thing but I had another opportunity come up in coaching and figured that’s what I would do. I had never really planned to pursue this position but after a few years I realized that I would be a good administrator. It had been a few years since I had gotten the degree in Sports Administration, but when this position came open I applied and here I am.”
Wilbanks will be tasked with a myriad of tasks within the athletics department ranging from eligibility and physicals all the way to scheduling opponents. She will also coordinate and oversee State testing every year as well.
“One of the things I’ve always thought about is that being an athletics director is not really about the X’s and O’s of coaching, that’s what we hire the coaches to do, but to make sure we are in compliance with all of the rules and to have good public relations,” added Wilbanks. “From the coaching aspect, my job is to put the best coaches in place to do a good job.”
Having not grown up in Kosciusko, but growing up nearby in Leake County, Wilbanks always admired the Kosciusko Separate School District from afar as far as athletics and the way the community supported the Whippets.
“Kosciusko has always been the athletic program that was up on the pedestal compared to everybody else around here,” said Wilbanks. “I consider it quite the honor to be in this position because this community, in my opinion, supports the school better than any community supports their schools around here. Athletics is always the face of a school district in many ways and I’m excited to be a part of that.”
