Jackson Parks
Editor-in-Chief
Assistant activities director turned head football coach Munir Prince has officially resigned from his positions at WGHS.
Prince accepted a new position as an assistant football coach for Eastern Michigan University. His resignation came with short notice to the community, as his last day was Friday, March 4 — just one day after Prince announced his resignation via email.
This is only Prince’s second year at WGHS. Prince’s resignation might come as a surprise to some, as he was named interim head football coach for this school year’s Turkey Day game. He was then named the official head coach for the following school year, as a result of Matt Buha’s resignation from the position.
In an interview with the Webster-Kirkwood Times about his then new and planned position as head coach, Prince said, “I’m humbled and honored to be the next head coach for Webster Groves High School,” he said. “The game of football has the ability to not only teach life lessons, but bring together entire communities.”
In an email sent to WGHS staff, Prince said, “As some of you may already know, I have accepted a position to be an assistant football coach at Eastern Michigan University. While I am excited about the opportunity, I am extremely sad to leave my students and coworkers.”
Prince mentioned the impact that the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had on his two years at WGHS.
“These past few years have been tough on a lot of fronts, especially our battles with COVID-19, but I couldn’t have picked a better group of people to battle with. Your care for students and looking out for one another is the winning recipe for team success, and it’s been a pleasure working with you,” Prince said via an email to staff.
Activities director Jerry Collins is disappointed for WGHS but happy for Prince and his new position.
“I’m bummed, because he was doing an awesome job. He really built a lot of momentum with excitement in the program and kids getting in the weight room for the off season. At the same time, I’m super excited for him because that’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often,” Collins said.
“We got lucky for him to come to us from a college position. I think he liked it here and was happy to stay here, but he had that opportunity to get back in the college ranks. I think that’s where he was wanting to be long term. Disappointed for us, but happy for him,” Collins said.
Administration is currently seeking a replacement for Prince’s position. However, the head football coach position will not come internally as in the situation where Prince took Buha’s position initially.
“We’ve already posted the head football coach position. That is already going. We’re already receiving applications, and we’re going to start meeting with candidates as early as next week,” Collins said. “Hopefully not long after spring break, we’ll be able to make a decision on that part. The assistant activities director will also be posted, and we will take applicants for that as well.”
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Jackson Parks – Editor-in-ChiefThis will be Jackson Parks’ second year on ECHO staff, but he made several contributions while taking journalism class his sophomore year. He served as Junior Editor his first year on staff. |
