Fixed on Fulton: Jackson girls’ hoops finds its new coach in-house

The coaching search is over for the Jackson girls’ basketball team. The district announced on Thursday that Jackson assistant and former Perryville head coach Angela Fulton had been elevated to head coach of the Indians ahead of the 2023-24 season.

As head coach of the Perryville Pirates, Fulton put together a 66-58 record over five years including three JCAA conference championships and three selections as the JCAA Coach of the Year before leaving to take the assistant job at Jackson.

“It's exciting – it's always been a dream of mine to be Jackson in general,” Fulton said. “To be in a position to actually be the head coach is a dream. It's surreal. It's something that I'm excited about and I’m ready to put everything into it.”

The hiring comes following former coach Adam Stoneking’s departure from the team in pursuit of an administrative role within the school district, leaving the team in pursuit of their second head coach since 2021 after then-head coach Tyler Abernathy’s departure for the same reason.

Fulton built up a reputation as a three-time honoree at Perryville. Coming into the program, Perryville had won just six games the year prior. In her first year, Fulton worked to nearly double that total and created a strong culture within the program.

“Sports are a great opportunity for me and the other girls to really dig deep and figure out how to conquer things that are hard,” Fulton said. “We had to revamp everything. We had to buy in. The girls had to believe in me, and I had to show them that I was in it for them.

“Once the girls got to know me, we created that family culture. We knew that no matter what, wins or losses, we knew we tried our hardest and we were there together. We were family.”

Serving as a varsity assistant and freshman coach for the Indians, Fulton quickly rose up the totem pole within the program. Despite her short tenure as an assistant, Fulton embraces the pre-existing culture of the program and gives much credit to her predecessors.

“That's the kind of culture that, coming to Jackson, truth be told the culture has already been created,” Fulton said. “Stoneking and Tyler [Abernathy] did a great job in the past and set a very good foundation. This is a very good group of girls, honestly.

“My biggest thing in taking over this job is not to change anything. To keep everything in the culture how it has been, because it's been working. I will, you know, add in my own little critiques, because, you know, I'm not Adam [Stoneking], but I plan on doing everything that Stoneking did since he's been here.”

The Jackson girls’ basketball team is no stranger to accolades, including postseason success. Having already spent time with the program, Fulton spent little time setting her goals for the program, looking to take the team right back to where it left off.

“When the freshman season was over, I still continued with the junior varsity and varsity girls,” Fulton said. “I got to really get to know them and get to know their ways. Honestly, our goal is to just continue what has already been created. Districts are one, and then if we can get past the quarterfinals, that's another one. That's always been a goal of theirs.

“I'm ecstatic. I mean, words can't express how excited and how happy I am, honestly. You know, to be put in a position to work for such a phenomenal school and to be part of something so big, it's just a blessing.”