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On Monday, Pike Liberal Arts School announced that it has added new run game coordinator and offensive line coach Kerry Coston to its football staff.

Coston is a Thomasville native who graduated from Troy University in 2021. Coston started his coaching career as an offensive line coach at Goshen High School in 2019 and became offensive coordinator at Goshen in 2021.

Coston moved on to serve as offensive line coach at Wayne County High School in Mississippi from 2021 until 2023. He also served as head track and field coach at Wayne County. Coston was hired at Wayne County by Jack Hankins, who was his coach at Thomasville High School.

“He has been a big factor in my life and has given me some of the best coaching advice I could ever ask for,” Coston said of Hankins. “Being mentored by him has changed my whole coaching career.”

Coston said that Pike Lib assistant coach Dacoda McConnell was instrumental in bringing him back to Troy.

“Dacoda McConnell and I met at Troy (University) and were really good friends,” he said. “I actually brought him with me to Goshen and now he’s brought me here to Pike. Dacoda had only said good things about Coach (William) Moguel.”

Coston said that he’s been impressed with Moguel so far and that Wayne County assistant coach Stacy Luker had given Moguel a glowing recommendation before he took the job. Luker is an AHSAA Hall of Famer that won multiple state championships during his career in Alabama.

“The strongest recommendation for Moguel I could get was from Stacy Luker, who I coached with at Wayne County,” Coston recalled. “When he signed off on Coach Moguel I knew that was a guy I would like to work for. He has been nothing but great and has a great vision for Pike and is a standup guy and I look forward to being a part of this program.”

Coston, who will also teach history at PLAS, said that he concentrates on developing the entire person, not just a good football player.

“I want to do things the right way,” he continued. “I want our kids to do things the right way; I believe that’s how you win football games. I believe in coaching the whole student athlete.

“I don’t think you become a good football player if you’re not a great person off the field. I think by creating better human beings and students, by product you will create better athletes.”