New Green Wave football coach Shane Kearbey ready to ‘make Malden proud’

MALDEN – Former Poplar Bluff coach and Malden assistant Shane Kearbey will take the reigns this fall as head coach of the Green Wave football team, and he has big plans for the program.

Kearbey has a long road ahead, but he’s confident that he has the player talent and staff to turn things around.

“Our goal is to make Malden proud,” Kearbey said. “Mainly, I want to do things right. We have the talent here, but we need to get them to buy into it. We need to try to build consistent success, pay attention to the little things, and we need to treat the kids right and take care of them.”

A Poplar Bluff native and graduate, Kearbey spent 14 years coaching the Mules’ football team after college, working his way up from defensive coordinator to offensive coordinator, then becoming the school’s youngest head coach ever. He then moved to Texas, where he coached at North Lamar High School.

Two years ago, he moved back to the Bootheel to coach at the very school he saw as a “gold nugget” of a program, full of potential with a long and successful history, while growing up and coaching nearby.

However, Malden has now ended its football season early two years in a row. Last year, after falling in all nine games, the Green Wave missed their final regular season matchup against Dexter and their district tournament opener. Additionally, two of the team’s nine losses were forfeits.

“That’s not what we need to be doing in a place with such a rich tradition,” Kearbey said. “They’ve had a rich tradition of football, and they want a winning situation, a program they can be proud of, and we’re going to try to bring it back.”

The Green Wave football team has accumulated just ten wins in the last five seasons, but Kearbey plans on turning that around.

Malden football players huddle up concluding a summer practice day consisting of offense and defense drills on Thursday, June 15, 2023. Christian Johnson, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Malden graduated 11 seniors on last year’s initial roster, including their starting quarterback and the majority of the Green Wave’s starting players. A sizable group of junior high players who have seen success will be moving up, including his son who plays quarterback.

With some natural, albeit young, leaders moving up to the high school ranks, in addition to several returning players, Kearbey said he believes that many of them are already buying into the new ways of the program.

“I’m really happy about these kids who have been showing up,” he said. “This group has been here every day since we’ve started, so they’re going to be the core.”

Things might take time to get rolling as the process begins for the new Green Wave team, but alongside several greatly experienced assistant coaches Kearbey hopes to get Malden back on the right track.

“Somewhere along the line, they kind of got off the track,” Kearbey said. “Now we have to find a way to get them back on it. The first thing we have to do is find a way to win with what we have and work harder than everybody else. But it’s a process, and it’s not going to happen overnight.”

This fall, Malden is scheduled to start their season on the road against Caruthersville on August 25. The Green Wave’s home opener will be against Charleston on September 8, 2023.