Maryland State Champion Coach New Mentor For Wildcats
The new head coach for the Rockbridge County High School boys lacrosse team has state championship credentials.
Davey Jones, who won a pair of state titles at Kent Island High School in Maryland a decade ago, has taken over the Wildcats’ program. He replaces Jay Whitelock, who stepped down after one season in charge.
Lacrosse runs in Jones’s blood. He grew up in Severna Park, Md., and competed for Eastern University in St. Davids, Pa., just outside of Philadelphia, and his brother, father and grandfather all played for the Naval Academy. Jones’ brother, Sam, is in his first season as the head men’s lacrosse coach at Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach.
“I grew up loving the sport,” Davey Jones said of his background in lacrosse. “I love what it teaches kids about becoming young men.”
Following his playing days at Eastern, Jones quickly entered the high school coaching ranks. His first head coaching gig was at Marple Newtown in Newtown Square, Pa., and he then spent five years – including four as head coach – at Kent Island.
Kent Island had a tremendous run with Jones at the helm, collecting back-to-back Maryland Class 3A-2A state titles in 2014 and 2015. The Bucs went 36-4 across those two seasons, and Jones was named the U.S. Lacrosse regional coach of the year for Maryland-Eastern Shore in 2014.
Jones stepped away from coaching when his first child was born in 2018. He and his family relocated to Rockbridge County a few years ago, and Jones served as an assistant for the Wildcats under Robert Hull in 2022.
He’s excited to be working with the RC squad again, noting that the current upperclassmen were eighth-graders and ninth-graders who were just getting their feet wet at the high school level during his previous year with the program.
“Preseason has been great. We had a great turnout; we’ve added some kids to the roster,” Jones said. “The guys have turned out with lots of energy, with good attitudes. It’s really been a blast so far.”
Jones has rounded out his staff with former RC head coach Seth Goodhart, Virginia Military Institute cadet Tony Merida – a former player for the Keydets – and recent RC alumni Pierson Hull and Daniel Graham.
The Wildcats will look to improve upon a 6-8 finish in 2024. Jones acknowledged that there may be a learning curve as he returns to coaching after several years away – and as he and the RC players grow accustomed to each other – but he hopes to build up his team’s mental toughness this spring.
“Not being from the area – having not coached these last few years – we talk about it being a blank slate,” Jones said. “Something we’ve been chatting a lot about throughout the preseason is the importance of the mental game.
“We’ve emphasized that even the best players will make mistakes, and what matters is how we respond to those mistakes,” he added. “We feel like that’s pretty good life advice, too.”
RC was slated to kick off the season at Western Albemarle last night. The Wildcats will take on Albemarle in their home opener on Friday, starting with junior varsity action at 5:30 p.m. with the varsity game scheduled to follow at 7:15.
JONES
