BY CLIFF SMELLEY
Telegraph Staff Writer
Keystone Heights High School has announced the hiring of Steve Reynolds as its new head varsity football coach.
Reynolds, who’s served as an assistant football and assistant boys weightlifting coach the past three seasons at KHHS and is currently the school’s dean of students, steps in for Chuck Dickinson, the current athletic director, who resigned after 24 seasons. He has head-coaching experience at Bradford (2012-13) and Oakleaf (2016-17).
“It’s an exciting opportunity to build off of what has been done here,” Reynolds said, referencing those who held the position before him.
“You’ve seen a lot of good coaches come through here,” he said. “It’s a good place.”
Principal Laurie Burke said approximately 20 applied for the position. She said one reason Reynolds is the right person to lead the program is the fact that he’s already been a part of the program, not just specifically coaching football, but also helping to build the foundation for football success as a weightlifting coach.
“He is passionate about Keystone,” Burke said. “He’s worked so closely with the boys the last three years.”
Burke said she likes the fact that Reynolds also has roots in Keystone. He’s lived there for approximately 10 years. He and his wife, Lauren, have three sons: Dylan, 11, Henry 4, and Tyler, 2.
“He’s a Keystone family man,” Burke said, adding, “He’s dedicated to Keystone.”
Reynolds, who grew up in Bradford County and is a 2004 Bradford High School graduate, said he wanted to have another opportunity to be a head coach, but he wasn’t actively pursuing any opportunity that was available. A big part of that was because he didn’t want to leave what is now home.
“This is where I live. This is where my kids live,” Reynolds said. “I’m excited about coaching a couple of blocks away from my house.”
Being a part of the community goes a long way in making the football program part of your family, which is what Reynolds wants.
“Keeping my football family close and involved with my family is very important to me,” Reynolds said. “We’ve done pool parties. We’ve done cookouts. We did Super Bowl parties the last few years.
“That’s become really important to me. The thing I’ve learned the most is this life is not about you. It’s about the relationships you can create and the impact you can make on people around you.”
Reynolds, an offensive lineman, played at Jacksonville University, graduating in 2008. He returned to Bradford High and coached one year as an assistant under Steve Hoard. He then coached as a graduate assistant at Northern State University in Aberdeen, South Dakota, in 2009.
The son of Steve and Brenda Reynolds returned to BHS and coached two years as an assistant under Derek Chipoletti. He was hired as head coach when Chipoletti resigned following the 2011 season.
Reynolds went 10-11 (including an 0-1 record in the playoffs) at BHS before resigning after the 2013 season. He worked under Chipoletti again for two years at Oakleaf and was hired as the Knights’ head coach when Chipoletti resigned after the 2015 season.
Oakleaf went 9-11 under Reynolds before the school decided to make a change at the position.
Reynolds also worked at Buchholz under Head Coach Mark Whittemore and was an assistant under Chipoletti again at St. Johns Country Day.
“My relationship with (Chipoletti) is priceless,” Reynolds said. “Every stop he’s ever been a head coach at, I worked with him at some point. He really taught me a lot about how to see the game and about trying to get the best out of your players.”
Reynolds added that the knowledge of the game he gained from working with Chipoletti has been valuable.
Before going to KHHS, Reynolds already had a relationship with Dickinson. He said the two often communicated when he was at Oakleaf, describing them as like-minded coaches working in the same county.
“He’s been a close friend for many years,” Reynolds said.
Dickinson believes Reynolds has what it takes to lead the program.
“He’s very knowledgeable. He knows the game,” Dickinson said, adding, “I’m expecting some good things from him.”
Having had the chance to work alongside Dickinson has shown Reynolds how important it is and how rewarding it is to build relationships with the players you coach.
“In my time with Chuck here, I’ve learned a lot about really rewarding the kids and loving the kids,” Reynolds said. “Relationships are huge with Chuck.”
And they’re now huge with Reynolds. Yes, he wants to win games, but as he’s matured as a person, he’s learned that football is about so much more. He wants to encourage players to serve God and to strive to have a positive impact on others. He also wants to help teach them how to handle adversity in life.
“Our goals for our players are to become incredibly productive citizens in our community and to understand that tough times never last, but tough people do,” Reynolds said. “We want them to become great servant leaders. Football is just a segue to push that message.”
Reynolds said he’d like to incorporate more football-specific training in the offseason, such as participation in seven-on-seven events. He’d also like to start having events that bring KHHS football alumni together.
As for what happens on the field, the new head coach just wants to build off past success.
“I want to take this thing and keep moving it forward,” Reynolds said. “We won our first-ever playoff game in 2021. Let’s take the next step.”
Burke believes Reynolds is the coach to do that.
“He has a lot of ideas, dreams, goals and plans for our program that we believe will be very successful,” she said.
