As a West Lauderdale alumnus, Matt Castleberry already knew a good bit about the Knights’ soccer community when he accepted the head coaching position last May. The experience he acquired as head coach of Northeast Lauderdale — a county rival — further added to that knowledge. 

Castleberry wasted little time turning West Lauderdale’s boys soccer program into a state contender, as the first-year coach guided his new program to a 21-7-2 record and an appearance in the MHSAA Class 4A state championship game. 

Because of his immediate impact, Castleberry is the 2019 Premier Preps of East Mississippi boys soccer coach of the year.

“It’s a big honor,” Castleberry said. “Obviously, something as a coach you want is to inflict change on young athletes for the better, as it applies to the game and as it involves being a young adult,” Castleberry said. “I feel like if you do a good job with that, then the winning will take care of itself.”

Castleberry’s impact was nearly instant, as West Lauderdale rattled off 12 wins by mid-December. He credited the success to a host of players who were open to instruction and eager to learn.

“My personal opinion is having a good group of seniors and a good group of underclassmen (is key),” Castleberry said. “I think we had good leadership. I think they bought into the way we wanted to play and had good chemistry. If you have good chemistry and play as a team and work hard for each other and do the little things right, I think you’ll always have success playing the game.”

Castleberry said his team navigated a challenging patch just after the return from Christmas break. Rain prompted the cancellation of a number of games, and the Knights began the new calendar year on a three-game losing streak. Castleberry implored his players to stay the course, and they listened. It was then that Castleberry knew the Knights were capable of a state tournament run.

“We didn’t play particularly well, and I kind of stayed on them about trusting themselves,” Castleberry said. “That was really the turning point when I thought that we could be something pretty special. We didn’t get discouraged. We didn’t start fussing at each other. They owned their failures in the game, and what they needed to work on, and when I saw the turnaround in the players and how they were playing and the individual accountability, that’s when I knew that they would do well the rest of the way.”

West Lauderdale responded with a seven-game win streak that was snapped in the state championship game.

Although 13 years have passed since Castleberry donned a West Lauderdale uniform, in his return as head coach, he said the expectations for the soccer program remain the same.

“We just want to be the best that we can be, win lose or draw,” Castleberry said.