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Lowndes Academy families had an opportunity to get better acquainted with two men returning to the Rebel’s athletic program Monday night when the school hosted a meet-and-greet event to reintroduce James “Speed” Sampley and David Hussey to students and their parents.

Sampley, who began his football coaching career at Lowndes Academy as assistant coach in 1987, was head football coach between 1994 and 1999. He returns as head football coach after 26 years on staff at Fort Dale Academy.

“I’m from Lowndes County,” Sampley said. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and this is where I started my coaching career. It’s like coming home, and [this is] where I’ll finish at. This will be my final spot.”

A 2016 Lowndes Academy graduate, Hussey returns to his alma mater to coach baseball for the Rebels. After playing for Georgia Highlands Community College for a year, Hussey finished his college career at the University of Tennessee at Martin and expressed great joy to return to the school where his love for baseball began.

“It just means the world to me that the school trusts me enough to allow me to come back and teach these young men,” Hussey said. 

Sampley said he looked forward to reconnecting with Lowndes Academy families.

“I’ll get a chance to coach some kids, and I coached their fathers,” Sampley said. “That’s not happening to a lot of people in this business.”

Hussey described his return to the school as a family affair.

“Lowndes Academy is my family school,” he said. “My grandmother, parents, aunts and uncles graduated from [Lowndes Academy.] To be able to graduate from here and then come back to lead this group of young men means more than I can put into words.”