Carrington's Dojo

Coaches Vanessa Fyffe and Dionte Ferguson enter the Dojo to discuss the role of the assistant coach and how good assistant coaches can enhance a program.

2010 Tusculum graduate, Vanessa Fyffe, is the University's Associate Head Women's Soccer Coach. This is Fyffe's second stint on Tusculum's coaching staff. During her first coaching stint at Tusculum, Fyffe helped coach the Pioneers to the 2016 South Atlantic Conference regular-season championship and five SAC Championship tournament appearances, including two trips to the semifinals. She also coached 13 players who received postseason All-Conference honors, while also overseeing the junior varsity program. Two of her goalies, Marissa Williams and Miriah Martin, earned All-SAC honors. Fyffe also has experience coaching at the University of Louisiana Monroe (NCAA D1) and Moravian College (NCAA D3).

Dionte Ferguson serves as Tusculum's Assistant Men's Basketball Coach. Ferguson came to the TU campus after two seasons as a graduate assistant coach at Morehead State University (NCAA D2). Ferguson also competed for Morehead State, where he was a part of the 2011 Ohio Valley Conference Championship team. Ferguson graduated from South Alabama, where he served as team captain and was named to the 2015 All-Sun Belt Conference third team. After his collegiate career, Ferguson spent more than two years playing overseas in Spain and the Philippines. In 2016, he was named to the All-EBA League second team while playing for Fundacion Lucentum, Agustinos Eras in Spain and was named the 2017 recipient of the MCBL Best Import Award with FEU-NRMF in the Philippines.

In this episode, Coach Carrington speaks with Professor Tim Wilson regarding the relationship that exists between academics and athletics, and its importance to the student experience.

Tim Wilson was named the Faculty Athletic Representative at Tusculum University on July 1, 2019.

The faculty athletic representative (FAR) at Tusculum is a member of the faculty or administrative staff who is designated by the president to represent the institution and its faculty in the institution's relationships with the NCAA and the South Atlantic Conference. Wilson is also an Assistant Professor of Sport Management at Tusculum.

Wilson, a product of Corryton, Tennessee, came to Tusculum in 2018 after serving 17 years as a Sport Management professor at Martin Methodist College. Wilson earned his Bachelor's degree in Speech and Theater with an emphasis in Speech Communication from Middle Tennessee State University, his M.S. degree in Human Performance and Sport Studies with a concentration in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and his M.B.A. from Northcentral University in Business and Technology Management with a concentration in Sports Management and Leadership. Currently, Wilson is finishing his Doctorate of Education with a specialization in Business from the University of the Cumberlands.

Coach Eddie Pennington enters the Dojo to discuss the challenges of starting a program from scratch. Pennington was named the first head coach in the history of the Tusculum University men’s volleyball program on Dec. 3, 2018. Men’s volleyball was introduced as Tusculum’s 22nd sport in the fall of 2018 and began competition during the Covid-shortened 2019-2020 academic year. 

Before coming to Tusculum, Pennington had coaching stints at both the NCAA Division I and II levels including the two years on the staff at D-I Butler University.  In his first season at the Indianapolis school, he helped the Bulldogs to a 23-8 record and advanced to the 2017 Big East Conference Tournament, Butler’s first postseason appearance since 2013.  He mentored three All-Big East performers including two that garnered AVCA All-Region honors.

The Denver, Colorado native also spent two years (2015 & 2016) on the staff at the University of Illinois Springfield and also served as the head coach of the Springfield Elite VBC.

Before coaching, Pennington graduated from Belmont Abbey College in 2015. While at Belmont Abbey, he was a two-year captain for the men's volleyball program and a student assistant for the women's program. He also served as head coach for Lake Norman Volleyball Club and assistant coach for the varsity program at South Point High School in Belmont, North Carolina.

Coach Brandon Steele enters the Dojo to discuss the culture that has fueled Tusculum Baseball's tradition of excellence. Brandon Steele was named the head coach of the Pioneers on June 5, 2018 after a long stint as an assistant baseball coach and recruiting coordinator.  

In his first season as the 25th baseball coach in program history in 2019, Steele guided Tusculum to a 30-21 overall record and a tie for third place in the South Atlantic Conference standings with a 17-7 record. The Pioneers reached the 30-win mark for the 16th time in the last 17 years, all with Steele on the staff, finishing the regular season by winning 29 of their final 41 games following a 1-7 start.

Steele served as an assistant coach for 15 successful campaigns where the Pioneers posted a remarkable 545-271-1 overall record which included five SAC championships, four SAC Tournament titles and six trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament. After arriving on the Tusculum campus in fall 2003, Steele and the Pioneers recorded 14 straight winning seasons while averaging 36 wins per year including five campaigns with 40 or more victories and five times ending the season with a national ranking.

Steele, a native of London, Ontario, Canada, is married to the former Mary Kay Benson of Monroe, Michigan and they are the parents of daughter, Samantha and son, Gunner.

Coach Julie Huebner enters the Dojo to share her thoughts on handling and overcoming adversity. Julie Huebner was named head softball coach at Tusculum on July 27, 2012 after serving as assistant coach for the previous two seasons.

Her 2021 team won the South Atlantic Conference Tournament Championship and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament. This was Huebner's second conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Her first came in 2013, when she also garnered South Atlantic Conference Coach of the Year honors. Huebner ranks second all-time in career wins at Tusculum, behind the legendary J.C. "Red" Edmonds, who had 460 victories in his 14 seasons.

Huebner earned her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2006, graduating with honors after majoring in Hospitality Management with a minor in Psychology. She was an outfielder and two-year captain on the softball team during her time at IUP, while earning All-PSAC West Second Team honors in 2005.

The Indiana University of Pennsylvania graduate began her coaching career as an assistant at North Penn High School in Lansdale, Pa., serving one year on the Knights’ coaching staff prior to her appointment at East Stroudsburg. Her coaching experience also includes three years at the NFCA Pennsbury Recruiting Camp, as well as four years as a lead instructor at the IUP summer camps. Huebner also served as the tournament site manager for the NSA World Series Qualifier held at IUP.

Along with working softball camps at her alma mater, Huebner has also served as an instructor at the University of Tennessee, Kutztown University and East Stroudsburg.

Huebner earned her Masters of Arts degree in human resource management from Tusculum in December 2016.

Tusculum University Head Athletic Trainer Chris Lenker enters the Dojo to share his thoughts on servant-leadership. Lenker is in his 16th year as Head Athletic Trainer and 20th overall at Tusculum University.

Lenker directs the overall operation and medical treatment of the student-athletes for the 26 intercollegiate sports offered by the University. In his two decades on the Greeneville campus, he has served as athletic trainer for football, men’s and women’s soccer, men and women’s basketball, baseball and men's lacrosse.  In 2017, Lenker was designated as Tusculum’s Health Care Administrator, overseeing compliance with NCAA health and safety-related legislation, policies and practices.

Lenker’s staff has been twice honored by the South Atlantic Conference as the league’s Athletic Training Staff of the Year during the 2008-2009 and 2016-2017 academic years.  During the 2016-2017 season, his accolades were adorned in glory again when he was the recipient of the Tusculum Sports Benefactor Award.

The Iowa native is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification and is licensed through the Tennessee Board of Athletic Training Examiners. He is a certified lifeguard and holds instructor certifications from the American Red Cross in First Aid, and CPR for the Professional Rescuer. Lenker earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sports Science at East Carolina in 1997, and later earned his Master’s in Health Education at ECU in 2000.

Lenker is married to the former Laura Sharp of Ocean City, New Jersey and they are the parents of son Addison Cade.

In this episode, Coach Carrington dives into Coach Vital's process of cultivating a team chemistry that is consistently primed to peak at tournament time.  

Allen Vital returned to his alma mater as head men's soccer coach on December 8, 2010. He has guided the Pioneers to three of the last six South Atlantic Conference Tournament championships, including the 2018 season. He has compiled a 77-64-21 record as head coach of the Pioneers, including a 57-38-15 mark over the past six seasons. His 77 victories as the Pioneer skipper ranks him third all-time in program history behind Tusculum Sports Hall of Famers Tony Castainca (199) and John Eiskamp (113). 

Vital came home to Tusculum after 14 seasons as the head coach at Carson-Newman University.  While at the Jefferson City, Tennessee school, Vital amassed an impressive 166-88-19 worksheet, giving him a career coaching mark of 243-152-40, making him the second winningest coach in South Atlantic Conference history.  He has a career SAC worksheet of 112-63-17, which are also the second-most league wins in conference history.

His career record ranks in the top-40 among active NCAA Division II coaches in both wins and winning percentage (.605). Vital has had 33 All-South Atlantic Conference selections during his nine years at Tusculum, along with All-Region selections Matias Rubio (2011), Guillermo Lazcano (2015) and Andre De Giorgi (2016). Vital recorded his 200th career victory on September 16, 2015 as the Pioneers defeated Queens 2-0 on the road.  He became only the second coach in SAC history with 100 conference wins when the Pioneers blanked Anderson 2-0 on Sep. 23, 2017.

Since his return to Tusculum, he has had a student-athlete earn CoSIDA Academic All-District honors on 12 occasions including three who garnered Academic All-America accolades (Jonathan Spicher - 2015, 2016; Guillermo Lazcano - 2016; Pau Peiro - 2019).  Spicher (2016) and Ivan Andabak (2018) were the recipients of the prestigious SAC Elite 20 Award which is awarded to the men's soccer student-athlete with the best grade point average of teams to advance to the league championship site.

Vital led the Carson-Newman to eight South Atlantic Conference championships (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010), one SAC Tournament title (2005) and seven consecutive trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009).  He was named Conference Coach of the Year six times (2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2011) and NCAA II Region Coach of the Year on two occasions (2003, 2005) during his tenure at C-N.

As a player, Vital garnered All-Conference honors as a freshman and sophomore at Lees-McRae as he led the Bobcats to a pair of NJCAA Region 10 Championships.  He played the 1990 and 1991 campaigns at Tusculum, where he was selected to the NAIA All-District 24 both seasons.  He led the Pioneers to a combined 26-16-2 record, while capturing the 1990 Tennessee Virginia Athletic Conference Championship and followed with the 1991 NAIA District title.

In this episode, Coach Carrington dives into Coach Price's process for stepping into the leadership role of a winning organization and sustaining success. 

Meagan Price was named the 16th head women's basketball coach Tusculum University on May 6, 2020.

Price came to Tusculum after serving as assistant women's basketball coach at Bethel University in McKenzie, Tennessee for two seasons. Price has prior head coaching experience, having compiled a 38-16 record in two years at Hiwassee College, and was an assistant coach for five years at Truett-McConnell University in Cleveland, Georgia which included stints as head junior varsity coach and interim head coach. The coaching staff broke multiple records including most wins in a season in her final stint at TMU.

At Hiwassee, Price took over a team that had won six games in 2015-16 and led them to 18 victories and a NCCAA Division I top-10 national ranking for the first time in school history. In 2017-18, Price guided the Tigers to the NCCAA Mideast Region championship and a berth in the NCCAA Division I national championship tournament. Hiwassee finished the year with 20 wins and sixth in the nation, with Price earning Mideast Region Coach of the Year honors and a National Coach of the Year nominee.

Following the 2017-18 campaign, Price returned to Bethel as an assistant to longtime head coach Chris Nelson. In her first season, the Wildcats went 28-6 overall and 18-2 in the Southern States Athletic Conference, earning a trip to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball tournament. This past season, the Wildcats finished 29-4 and won both the SSAC regular season and conference championship finishing with a top five national ranking, and would have made their eighth straight trip to the NAIA Tournament before it was cancelled.

Price, a native of Gleason, Tennessee, began her collegiate basketball career at Bethel and played two seasons before transferring to Missouri Baptist University for her final two seasons. Price helped lead the Lady Wildcats to their first National Tournament appearance in 2009.

Price earned a bachelor's degree in English with a writing certification from Missouri Baptist in 2011, and a master's degree in science in sport management in 2014. She is working toward a Ph.D. in leadership and sports administration from Concordia University in Chicago.