The Oakdale Express  Vol. 2 No. 2
Fall 2008
Former and Current Coaches
Remember Games and Players
Mike Barber
Boys' Basketball Coach 2001 - Present
Oakdale Class of 1990

I became head coach for the 2001-2002 season after being an assistant head coach for 2 years under Coach
Mickey Bingham.  The most memorable game that I have coached was the first victory in my career against Midway in
double overtime.  

In high school, I played basketball and baseball.  As a player, the basketball game that stands out in my mind was the
1987-1988 Senior Night game against Oliver Springs.  All the starters scored in double figures, and we won by 33.  I
remember Coach Bingham saying, "Turn out the lights, the party's over".
Mickey Bingham
Boys' Basketball Coach 1984-2001
Football Coach 1974-75
Elementary Boys' Basketball Coach 1974-1976, 1984-2005
Oakdale Class of 1964

Mickey said there are so many games that stand out, but one in particular took place during the 1988 high school
regular season game at Wartburg.  Oakdale lost the game by 2 points.  Mickey said, "I lost that game."  

Another game is the one that he calls "The Little George game." This game took place during the district tournament
at Coalfield in 1990.  Oakdale was playing Wartburg in the semi-finals.  Mickey was a die-hard 3-point-shot coach.  
He kept telling the players to shoot, but they wouldn't.  Finally, he went to the bench and sent in George.  He told
George to shoot a three as soon as he got across the mid-line and near the top of the key every time he went
across, not just once.  George did exactly what his coach said and had 17 points by half time -- 5- 3 point goals and
a 2-point shot that was the result of a Wartburg player coming out to try to stop the 3, so George went around him
and shot a layup and scored.  

Mickey said as he recalls George didn't score the second half of the game, but Oakdale won that game, only to lose
in the finals.  Mickey was chosen by his peers as District Coach of the Year that year, and he gave the plaque to
George Headden, Jr. -  still known today as "Little George."  George stood 10 feet tall that night though because he
was doing exactly what the coach said, and it worked.

Mickey believes that Lyndell Goldston is the only one of his former players who played four years of college
basketball.  Lyndell graduated from David Lipscomb in Nashville.

Growing up, Mickey played summer baseball for Hollis Eble through the years.  There was no high school baseball
program in the 60's.  He played football from 8th grade through 12th grade - 1959-1964.  He also played elementary
basketball 6th-8th grades and played high school basketball in the 9th and 10th grades.
Fred Snow
Girls' Basketball Coach 1977 - Present
Elementary Boys' Basketball Coach 1974-1975
Elementary Girls' Basketball Coach 1977-2005
Assistant Football Coach 1977-1985
Oakdale Class of 1968

I coached the middle school boys basketball 1974-75.  I did not coach or teach for the next two years while I went
back to school for teaching certifications.  I returned in 1977-78 and coached the middle school boys and girls
basketball, high school girls basketball and assistant high school football.  I coached the middle school boys for
about four years.  I helped with football for about eight years total, with head coaches Bill Winstead, Larry Cannon,
and David Stevens.  I coached middle school girls from 1977 until 2004-2005, when Heath took over the program,
except for about three years when Mrs. Lou Ann Voyles coached from 1990-1993.  I coached the high school girls
from 1977 till the present except for the 1990-91 season when David Stevens was the coach.

One game that stands out for me occurred February 16, 1980. We defeated Wartburg 32-28 in a first round
tournament game.  We had lost to them by more than 20 points a couple of weeks before the tournament.  Our two
leading scorers had suffered season ending knee injuries in December and January.  This was an emotional turning
point for a young team that needed to believe in themselves.

Another game took place February 13, 1987, when we defeated Clarkrange at Oakdale 56-48.  Clarkrange came in
ranked first in the state.  Our team got ahead early and never gave it up.  I remember changing offenses early in the
fourth quarter.  We ran the new offense, once to the right, once to the left and got lay-ups both times.  The team
gained confidence and finished the game strong.

The 1988-89 and 1989-90 teams had records of 26-4 and 27-8 respectively.  The successes of the 89 team lead to
a team in 90 that played with tremendous confidence.  Both of these teams were undefeated in regular season
district play.  The 90 team finished in the final four of the state, beating Collinwood (ranked first in the state) in the
first round state game and losing to Clarkrange in the semifinal game.

The 06-07 team won the Loudon Christmas Tournament.  We defeated a good Mississippi team in the first round and
York Institute in the semifinals.  We defeated Loudon in the championship game on a three pointer as the buzzer
sounded.  We were the only single A team in the tournament.  The only other games Loudon lost that year were to
AA Stone Memorial which went to the state tournament, to AA Livingston Academy which went to the state
tournament, and to AA Austin East which won the state tournament.

In 2000 I helped coach a Tennessee high school all star team.  We played in a tournament against South Carolina,
Georgia, and Florida in Lakeland, Florida.  Most of the players on our team had signed with division I colleges.  
Winning that tournament was a great experience.

There have been Oakdale players who have played at Tennessee Temple, Hiawassee and at Roane State.  Angela
Maxwell, Lisa Lindsey, Cindy McGill, Kristy Norris, Alison Snow, Valerie Ruppe, and Morgan Byrge have played some
college ball. (Nancy Scott played basketball at Tennessee Wesleyan but did not finish her senior season).

When I was in high school our district was the four current Morgan County high schools and four Scott County high
schools (Norma, Huntsville, Robbins, and Oneida).  We had a really good team my freshman year with mostly seniors
that played.  The next year was not very successful.  Coach Hollis Eble, who had spent a couple of years at the post
office, came back to coach my junior year.  We became a much better team that year and by my senior year we were
able to beat every team in the district once and most of them twice.  There are two games that I remember most.  
During my junior year we were down to Spring City at halftime by about 30 points.  We had the game close by the
middle of the fourth quarter and eventually lost by three points as I remember.  Coach Eble told us that in all his
years of coaching and watching basketball he had never seen a team so far behind come back and get close
enough to have a chance at the end of the game.  During my senior year we beat Wartburg by about 20 points at
Oakdale.  We played very well to beat the team that eventually won the district championship.

My wife and both of my children have been a great help to me during my coaching career.  Donna has always been
supportive despite the long hours away from home, whether we were winning or losing.  My children went to many
road games with me even before they went to school, and during their early elementary years.  Alison played for me
for seven years.  She played in the TACA east-west all star game in 2000, and played at Roane State for the next
two years.  She helped me coach high school and middle school during the 02-03 season.  Since that time she has
worked with various age groups of Oakdale girls playing as independent teams during the spring and summer.  
Heath began helping me coach both teams during the 03-04 season.  Heath was essentially the coach in the post
season.  We played five games in the area and East Tennessee tournaments, and we had high school games so
that I was only able to go to one tournament game.  We won the Morgan County tournament, finished third in the
area tournament, and went to the East Tennessee tournament at Gatlinburg.  The next year he became head coach
of the middle school and has gone to the East Tennessee tournament two of the last three years.  It is great to have
Heath helping with the girl’s basketball program.  We enjoy working together, and discussing strategy during the
games.

I have been blessed to have so many talented young ladies to coach, who were good citizens as well as good
players.  I appreciate all the young ladies who have helped with the program by keeping stats, filming, keeping
books, etc.  Our school administration, faculty and staff have always been supportive of our athletic teams.  There
have been so many parents who have helped with the program over the years.  Our community is also supportive.  I
remember so well the huge Oakdale crowd that watched the 1990 team play in the state tournament.  Quite often
when we are on the road against larger schools our fans will outnumber the home team.
Bill Triplett
Baseball Coach 1991-1998

I coached baseball for eight years at Oakdale from 1991 to 1998.  We had a record of 133-88-1 in those years with
six out of the eight years going into the regional tournament.  In 1994 we were in the final four and finished third.  In
1996 we made it to the state sectional.  In 1994 we beat Coalfield in the region finals 4-3 to advance to the sectional
game at South Pittsburg.  In 1994 also, we beat South Pittsburg to advance to the final four.  In 1996 we beat
Coalfield 3-2 in the region final without getting a hit to win the regional championship.

I had great assistant coaches - Bobby Clark and Stanley Smith.

Outstanding players that immediately come to mind include:
  • Chris Treadway - He made no excuses about his homelife, but has become a successful assistant principal in
    Rutherford County.
  • Brad Howard - He was a complete player who was and continues to be the best player I have ever been
    around. He holds many state records to this day.
  • Jason Young - He was an inspirational player because of his heart, not size. He continued his education at
    MTSU.
  • Jamie Lawson - He remains a great friend even though he didn't play a lot. He was inspirational in the team
    concept in the early 1990's.
  • Jay Bingham - He was another team guy who sacrificed for the sake of everybody else.
  • Stanley, Brant, and Will Smith - These brothers were a joy to coach and remain strong people in life.
  • Chris and Darren Barton - These brothers were fun to coach and are successful adults today.
  • Bryan Powers - Is today a good young coach.
  • Travis Malone and Doug Miller - These are two from my first senior group that stuck with us from the beginning.
  • Daniel McGee - Was another hard player.
  • Matt Hall - Remains a good friend and continued his education at MTSU.
  • Greg Clem - Was a leader even though he didn't get to play much.
  • Travis Lawson - Remains a great friend along with his father, Carlos, and continued his education at MTSU.
  • Travis Langley - He is today a good young coach.
  • Phillip O'Dell - He continued playing football at Maryville College but was a good high school short stop.
  • Barry Howard - He continued playing at Roane State and was a very good high school pitcher.
  • Paul Summers - He was a very good high school catcher.

Collegues and Co-workers that I will always remember include:  Mr. McClurken,  Mrs. Foster,  Miss Mason,  Mr.
Stevens,  Coach Tapp,  Coach Foster,  Mrs. Futtrell, and  Coach Barber.

I hope I didn't leave anyone out.