This summer, Mitch Adams was appointed the new athletics director at Reagan, replacing Alexis McCoy, who previously worked as the athletics director for 10 years. 

Adams has been in Stokes County for 20 years, worked at South Stokes High School for 11 years and acted as their athletics director for eight. Although it is still early in the school year, he is steadily becoming adjusted to the new environment.

“It’s a great school. Coming in I always heard great things about Reagan,” Adams said. “There are a lot of really helpful people who have been helping me out a lot. I’ve called Mrs. McCoy a lot, especially at the beginning, to figure out how things work here.” 

The transition from such a small school, with around 500 students, to one with over 2,000 has been one of the biggest changes Adams has faced. The school has many more teams, coaches and athletes than he is used to overseeing. 

“We have field hockey and lacrosse, which I’ve never had to deal with before,” Adams said. “It’s been great getting involved with those sports and getting to be a part of a bigger school atmosphere. Having 600 to 800 kids in the student section of games is just unbelievable.”

The sheer crowds at games, especially football games, have shocked Adams, adding another adjustment for him. 

When it comes to the fans, Adams says the most important thing is for spectators to be respectful of the opposing teams. Some student sections can receive a bad reputation for their attitude towards their opponents, and he wants to make sure Reagan avoids that.

“I want our students to be able to cheer for our teams, but I want them to be respectful of the opposing teams,” Adams said. “I know sometimes that’s hard.”

Adams has an ambitious vision for the future of Reagan athletics, though he mostly wants to focus on cultivating the athletic and academic success that the school already has. 

“I think Reagan is one of the top schools in the state,” Adams said. “Ideally, we want teams that compete at a high level. We want to hire coaches that are knowledgeable and will help the athletes not only on the field or court, but in life.” 

Adams is passionate about not only having talented athletes, but having athletes with good character and sportsmanship. He wants Reagan to be a school that people want to come to.

“We need to have athletes that are high character people and do things the right way,” Adams said. “Any time we go somewhere we want to leave it better than we found it.”

Throughout his life, Adams has been involved with sports. Growing up in Alleghany County, he played football, basketball and baseball, and was always watching sports games.

“I had a baseball coach in high school who had a big influence on me as an athlete and made me want to get into teaching,” Adams said. “I want to hopefully have that same impact on student athletes.”

Once he began coaching, Adams started to pick up an interest in participating in the administrative side of athletics. That was when he became the athletic director at South Stokes, a role which he enjoyed.

Aside from school sports, Adams’ hobbies include hunting and archery. 

“One thing people usually don’t know about me is that I do competitive archery,” Adams said. “I have my own archery shop and a 3D course behind my house.” 

Adams had participated in archery competitions all around the country, predominantly around the east coast. He has been to states such as Alabama, Kentucky, Georgia, and West Virginia to compete.

Adams is also passionate about his family. Adams is married with three daughters. The oldest plays volleyball, while his middle daughter is interested in dance. His youngest is two years old. 

Adams seems to be settling into his new role at Reagan and sees good things ahead. After always being at the 1A level, which consists of the smallest schools, he believes coming to a bigger school has been a good step in his career.

“It’s been great, I haven’t regretted it one bit,” Adams said. “It’s a great move for me and my family.”