Cumberland Principal Dr. Joshua Doyle has announced that Cole Wilson has been selected to lead the school’s 5th/6th grade football team, the first Redskins football team to take the field since 2019.
Wilson, a Cumberland resident, played multiple sports as a Redskin before moving on to a stellar high school career on the gridiron for the Harlan County Black Bears. A 2014 HCHS graduate, he played for legendary coach Tom Larkey, where he was a leader of some of the best defenses in school history and scored the first touchdown at the newly opened Coal Miners Memorial Stadium against Bell County on Oct. 26, 2012. He was an integral part of the four district championship teams and the 2012 regional championship team.
After high school, Wilson served with the U.S. Marine Corp for four years. Since returning to Cumberland, he has served as a coach and umpire at Tri-City Little League. This past fall he served as offensive coordinator with the Blue Bears junior league football team, helping lead the Cumberland-based team to the league championship.
“I am excited to lead this group of young men and teach them the game,” Wilson said. “They take a lot of pride in being Cumberland Redskins and understand the importance of football in our community.”
One of the main goals of resurrecting the Cumberland program is to help kids from the Tri-City area learn the game of football and develop a solid feeder program for HCHS. Jacob Saylor, HCHS head football coach, was instrumental in helping to get the program back up and running.
“I am so excited that Cole has accepted this position to lead the Cumberland 5th/6th-grade football team,” said Saylor. “Cole is a former Redskin and Black Bear with a love for his alma maters. I have all the confidence in the world that he will grow this program so that eventually the Cumberland area will have not only a 5th/6th grade team, but a 7th/8th grade team also. I watched Cole last year with the Pee Wee team and the kids loved him. He will bring a wealth of football knowledge to this Cumberland team teaching how to play the game safely and properly all while making it fun.”
The support from the community, school, and alumni to bring football back to the Tri-Cities has been amazing, said Harlan County school board member Scott Sherman. “Our small community has a strong football tradition, witnessed by four state championships and seven state runner-ups from our former high schools. I’m excited to see Cole take the reins of this program and develop players for the next level,” Sherman said.
Coach Wilson, whose wife Heather is an assistant coach for the school’s soccer team, is the father of Rose, Harper, and Kayden, who are students at CES. He is actively working on the game schedule for this fall.