Jason Greenway will be back on the sidelines in black and gold at Joe Quintal Field this year.
The former multi-sport standout for the Kernels and Augustana University is joining the Mitchell High School football team's coaching staff as an assistant.
"Coach VanOverschelde asked if I'd be interested and I said 'Yeah, for sure.' I wasn't sure where I'd start coaching, but I wanted to get into it," Greenway said. "It's different to be on the other side of the ball. There's a lot more things going on than you originally think."
MHS head coach Kent VanOverschelde said it was a no-brainer to bring on Greenway, a former two-time all-state selection who rushed for 2,874 yards and 29 touchdowns for the Kernels from 2009 to 2011.
"He's competed at a high level in high school and with his collegiate experience," Vanoverschelde said. "He's one that always paid attention to details and it's been great. He's a Mitchell Kernel and he takes a lot of pride in what we do. His addition is a great opportunity for our program to continue grow."
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Mitchell had an assistant football coach job opening when Joe Kramer stepped down after working with the Kernels for the past two seasons.
Greenway, a 2012 MHS graduate, will work mostly with the running backs, but added he gained plenty of experience on special teams and at wide receiver while playing with the Vikings.
"I'm excited for it. It's going to be a lot of fun," Greenway said. "The skill players look really good and the offensive line is working really hard. I think once they get a couple of victories, they'll be hungry for some more."
While he's just starting working with the Kernels for this season, VanOverschelde said Greenway is already staying late and working one-on-one with some of the players. Greenway's addition to the coaching staff is also special for VanOverschelde and the rest of the coaching staff that helped work with him as a high school player more than five years ago.
"It's rewarding for us coaches to bring on someone that was a part of our program and let them share their experience with our athletes," VanOverschelde said.
Returning to the sidelines as assistant coaches under VanOverschelde from last year are Travis Carpenter (defensive coordinator), Walt Moody (wide receiver/defensive back coach), Paul Nelson (offensive and defensive line coach), Eric Witte (offensive and defensive line coach) and Pat Larson (statistician and assistant freshman coach).
Carpenter has been coaching with the Kernels for 21 years, while Larson is starting his 14th year, Nelson is in his seventh year, Moody is in his sixth year and Witte is in his fourth year
Also joining Greenway as a new member on the Kernel coaching staff is Tate Schoenfelder.
