Jackson’s Adam Stoneking to step down, become assistant principal

After a 2-year run at the helm of the Jackson Indians’ girls' basketball program, head coach Adam Stoneking announced he was stepping down to become Jackson High School’s new assistant principal.

Stoneking arrived at Jackson four years ago with the goal of one day being a principal.

“I feel very blessed,” Stoneking said. “I came to Jackson four years ago with the intention of one day being a principal. I was asked to help coach and I never thought within two years I would be the head basketball coach. I never thought that opportunity would arise and then I never thought within four years I would be an assistant principal. It’s kind of overwhelming in terms of how quickly it all happened.”

Stoneking said the decision to walk away from the relationships he’s built with his players was the hardest part.

“It’s really hard to walk away from the girls,” Stoneking said. “I think that’s the decision that’s the hardest. It’s not walking away from coaching as much as it is the relationships you build.”

Upon taking over after former head coach Tyler Abernathy, Stoneking said his mindset was simple.

“My main goal was to just not mess it up because it was running so smoothly,” Stoneking said. “I always point back to that first year because I had been out of coaching basketball for a couple of years and I always point to that group for making me love coaching basketball again. I fell in love with it again in my first couple of years here.”

In 2 seasons Stoneking’s teams went 38-17 overall, 13-2 in SEMO Conference play and won a pair of district championships in the process.

“We had a lot of success,” Stoneking said. “I always give the players the credit because they’re the ones that play the game.”

One of the areas Stoneking said he takes the most pride in is the success his players had off the court and in the classroom.

“I’ve always said I’m not in this to win championships,” Stoneking said. “If you’re in high school coaching to go to final fours you’re probably going to be disappointed. I’m in this for the kids and the relationships you build. I really hope they can use the lessons they learned in basketball in life. A lot of the things they see in basketball, they’ll see in the workplace.”

The Indians are now conducting a search to fill the head coaching vacancy for next season. Jackson is coming off a 21-8 season in which the Indians won the Class 6 District 1 Championship.