RABBITTOWN – New East Hall coach Seth Thompson is like a kid in a candy shop.
"I'm still kind of in this floating zone," he said. "I'm almost thinking I've got to pinch myself because I'm at East Hall. I'm East Hall's basketball coach!"
Thompson took the reins of the program after Joe Dix stepped down to take the same position at Collins Hill in the spring.
"Coach Dix was one of the best coaches to work for," he said. "Definitely, some big shoes to fill."
Thompson is the third coach since 1990 to lead the program at East Hall. Seth Vining stepped away in 2004, giving way for then-assistant coach Dix. Dix went on to win the 2005 Class AA title, three state semifinals, and seven other state playoff appearances.
"You're talking about Coach (Seth) Vining – arguably one of the best coaches in Georgia – ever," Thompson said. "Then you're talking about Coach Dix – one of the best coaches in Georgia right now. If you talk about programs in the state of Georgia, East Hall gets brought up in those conversations."
Thompson knows the expectations at East Hall. It's pretty simple, win and get after it.
East Hall's mantra over the years has been, "get after it." It's a simple phrase with big meaning when it comes to the East Hall style of play – run and jump defense and push the ball out of the gym. The program's style was built by Vining, continued by Dix and is now expected to continue under Thompson.
"I was asked that question by the hiring committee," Thompson said about the "get after it" style of play. "There's a certain style East Hall plays and everybody knows that. I want us to play faster than we did when Coach Dix was here. It's definitely the East Hall way."
The Thompson era officially begins Friday when the Vikings open at Banks County. Although the pressure will be intense and the expectations very high, Thompson says he's ready to take on the challenge.
"If you would have asked me 15 years ago, I would have said no," he said. "I'm not worried about the pressure, because I have such a high expectation for myself. I'm relishing in the fact that we've got the pressure here. It's such a gift because other schools don't have what we've got."
You won't see a lot of changes at East Hall. Thompson said he'll make a few tweaks here and there and add his touch on the program, but no major changes.
"We've changed a few things, but there's a culture of winning here," he said. "So I feel like I have the biggest advantage of any coach in Georgia because there's a high expectation here. It's been a lot easier for me because of the culture we have at East Hall."
The Vikings will be a mixture of youth and experience this season. Seniors Jayvion Rucker and Kylan Curry will be the leaders. Jr. Luke Holtzclaw, who's coming off an injury, is back and playing well, and So. Imre Earls continues to work his way to the starting rotation.
"We're really quite young," Thompson said. "We have a lot of juniors that are going to get big minutes this year. We have enough players that we can play fast and continue the tradition of the East Hall-style of play."
