Grass greener at Greenfield for Wilkinson
By Paul Durham
The proverbial grass may be greener on the other side, but for Justin Wilkinson, the grass seems greenest at Greenfield.
The West Virginia native is in is first season as Knights varsity soccer coach after four years of coaching the junior varsity. Wilkinson, who took over for Eric Nguyen, said that he quickly realized the passion for soccer at Greenfield aligned with his own dedication upon his arrival there. When the chance came to become the varsity head coach, he jumped at it.
“Since being here with the JV team for the past four years and seeing how everything was, how much they care and value the sport,” said Wilkinson, who teaches basic computer skills to grades kindergarten through seventh at Greenfield. “The money and things like that, I don’t even do it for that. The whole thing I want to do is, I have a passion for playing the sport and allowing it to grow, and teaching younger kids the way that I played or the way that I’ve seen or been coached is something that I wanted to carry on with all of these players as well. So, once I saw the family atmosphere that Greenfield provided, not only as an athletics program, but more as an academic program and the way things are done here, it was definitely something that I wanted to do.”
So far, so good for Wilkinson and the Knights, who are 4-1, including three wins in their annual preseason tournament, the Dr. Robert T. Stone Memorial Showcase. Making the transition easier from the coaching style of Nguyen to that of Wilkinson is the fact that he’s coached all the players on JV in the past. The seniors are from his first JV team at Greenfield.
“They’ve been loving every minute of it so far and I’ve been loving every minute of it,” he said. “It’s like a blessing, knowing that I can come into a place where people enjoy the sport as much as I do.”
Wilkinson, 32, has been part of four North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship teams, including the last two years with Nguyen. He was the assistant on former coach Randol Mendoza’s state championship team in his last year with the boys in 2017 and helped Mendoza direct the Greenfield girls to the NCISAA 1-A crown in May.
“Eric left me in a great spot there, for sure, by developing these guys to where they’re at now,” Wilkinson said. “He came in for three years and won two state championships. So, he’s definitely left me in a good area with developing the younger ones, even when I was working with him as an assistant coach and doing the JV team. The way he brought everything to the table was making it that family atmosphere and doing that, so I tried to adapt that as well, and making it fun for the guys and enjoyable where it’s not just drill after drill after drill and making it too difficult for them as well.”
Despite losing six senior starters from the 2020 team, Wilkinson sees much of the same fire from the current group.
“The intensity is definitely there,” he said. “They are 100% set on winning another state championship for sure.”
Wilkinson, 32, moved here from Pittsburgh with his wife, Kylee, and started working at Jones Elementary. They now have a 4-year-old son, Rory.
Wilkinson played at Bethany College, an NCAA Division III school in Charleston, West Virginia, and found his way to helping with Wilson Youth Soccer Association teams.
“I wanted to get back involved in soccer while I was down here and I talked to some of the WYSA coaches to see if they were interested in me having coach,” he said. “I think once they heard that I’ve coached in college and played in college, they gave me an opportunity.”
From there, he heard about Greenfield and, when a job opening came up, he jumped on it. Wilkinson said the family atmosphere at the small school reminded him of his experience at Bethany.
“And being here for the first year, it just made it seem like everybody’s willing to help everyone’s a family and that, that’s the main reason why I wouldn’t want to leave,” he said. “One, as a teacher, and then the love of the game that they have here at Greenfield for soccer.”
Part of that is through his assistant coaches, Russell Stone and Whit Coolbaugh. Stone, a Greenfield graduate and a local optometrist, started helping Mendoza when both his kids were still at Greenfield eight years ago.
“I wouldn’t want to do it without Russell, to be honest,” Wilkinson said. “He’s such a huge contributor. He brings so much to the table, especially when he’ll come out and play with the kids. Him doing that and the kids see him play, they think he’s a magician. Because every time he gets the ball at his feet, he doesn’t move very fast but he’ll turn you around and put you in a different place and you’ll have no clue where you’re being put!”
Coolbaugh, who works for Truist Bank, is a member of the Barton College Athletic Hall of Fame. His son Landyn is an eighth grade midfielder for the Knights. And of course, Mendoza, whom Wilkinson helps coach the girls, is always available to bounce ideas off.
“I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff!” Wilkinson said. “That’s just the epitome of everything. That’s like top of the line when I’m looking at that. If I ever needed any help or anything like that, there’s plenty of options that I would have going forward. So it’s been fantastic having those guys be willing to step in and help and get these kids on the right track.”
Kenneth Stancil has taken over the JV program with help from Stacy Good and Matt Dean.
Wilkinson is well versed in Greenfield soccer tradition. The school was the first in Wilson to play the sport and has won a combined 24 boys and girls soccer state titles.
“They always say the grass isn’t always greener, but it’s definitely greener for me, leaving from West Virginia to come here,” he said. “It’s definitely the best that I’ve made and I wanted to make the best opportunity out of it as well.”
By Paul Durham
The proverbial grass may be greener on the other side, but for Justin Wilkinson, the grass seems greenest at Greenfield.
The West Virginia native is in is first season as Knights varsity soccer coach after four years of coaching the junior varsity. Wilkinson, who took over for Eric Nguyen, said that he quickly realized the passion for soccer at Greenfield aligned with his own dedication upon his arrival there. When the chance came to become the varsity head coach, he jumped at it.
“Since being here with the JV team for the past four years and seeing how everything was, how much they care and value the sport,” said Wilkinson, who teaches basic computer skills to grades kindergarten through seventh at Greenfield. “The money and things like that, I don’t even do it for that. The whole thing I want to do is, I have a passion for playing the sport and allowing it to grow, and teaching younger kids the way that I played or the way that I’ve seen or been coached is something that I wanted to carry on with all of these players as well. So, once I saw the family atmosphere that Greenfield provided, not only as an athletics program, but more as an academic program and the way things are done here, it was definitely something that I wanted to do.”
So far, so good for Wilkinson and the Knights, who are 4-1, including three wins in their annual preseason tournament, the Dr. Robert T. Stone Memorial Showcase. Making the transition easier from the coaching style of Nguyen to that of Wilkinson is the fact that he’s coached all the players on JV in the past. The seniors are from his first JV team at Greenfield.
“They’ve been loving every minute of it so far and I’ve been loving every minute of it,” he said. “It’s like a blessing, knowing that I can come into a place where people enjoy the sport as much as I do.”
Wilkinson, 32, has been part of four North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association 1-A championship teams, including the last two years with Nguyen. He was the assistant on former coach Randol Mendoza’s state championship team in his last year with the boys in 2017 and helped Mendoza direct the Greenfield girls to the NCISAA 1-A crown in May.
“Eric left me in a great spot there, for sure, by developing these guys to where they’re at now,” Wilkinson said. “He came in for three years and won two state championships. So, he’s definitely left me in a good area with developing the younger ones, even when I was working with him as an assistant coach and doing the JV team. The way he brought everything to the table was making it that family atmosphere and doing that, so I tried to adapt that as well, and making it fun for the guys and enjoyable where it’s not just drill after drill after drill and making it too difficult for them as well.”
Despite losing six senior starters from the 2020 team, Wilkinson sees much of the same fire from the current group.
“The intensity is definitely there,” he said. “They are 100% set on winning another state championship for sure.”
Wilkinson, 32, moved here from Pittsburgh with his wife, Kylee, and started working at Jones Elementary. They now have a 4-year-old son, Rory.
Wilkinson played at Bethany College, an NCAA Division III school in Charleston, West Virginia, and found his way to helping with Wilson Youth Soccer Association teams.
“I wanted to get back involved in soccer while I was down here and I talked to some of the WYSA coaches to see if they were interested in me having coach,” he said. “I think once they heard that I’ve coached in college and played in college, they gave me an opportunity.”
From there, he heard about Greenfield and, when a job opening came up, he jumped on it. Wilkinson said the family atmosphere at the small school reminded him of his experience at Bethany.
“And being here for the first year, it just made it seem like everybody’s willing to help everyone’s a family and that, that’s the main reason why I wouldn’t want to leave,” he said. “One, as a teacher, and then the love of the game that they have here at Greenfield for soccer.”
Part of that is through his assistant coaches, Russell Stone and Whit Coolbaugh. Stone, a Greenfield graduate and a local optometrist, started helping Mendoza when both his kids were still at Greenfield eight years ago.
“I wouldn’t want to do it without Russell, to be honest,” Wilkinson said. “He’s such a huge contributor. He brings so much to the table, especially when he’ll come out and play with the kids. Him doing that and the kids see him play, they think he’s a magician. Because every time he gets the ball at his feet, he doesn’t move very fast but he’ll turn you around and put you in a different place and you’ll have no clue where you’re being put!”
Coolbaugh, who works for Truist Bank, is a member of the Barton College Athletic Hall of Fame. His son Landyn is an eighth grade midfielder for the Knights. And of course, Mendoza, whom Wilkinson helps coach the girls, is always available to bounce ideas off.
“I couldn’t ask for a better coaching staff!” Wilkinson said. “That’s just the epitome of everything. That’s like top of the line when I’m looking at that. If I ever needed any help or anything like that, there’s plenty of options that I would have going forward. So it’s been fantastic having those guys be willing to step in and help and get these kids on the right track.”
Kenneth Stancil has taken over the JV program with help from Stacy Good and Matt Dean.
Wilkinson is well versed in Greenfield soccer tradition. The school was the first in Wilson to play the sport and has won a combined 24 boys and girls soccer state titles.
“They always say the grass isn’t always greener, but it’s definitely greener for me, leaving from West Virginia to come here,” he said. “It’s definitely the best that I’ve made and I wanted to make the best opportunity out of it as well.”
