When it came time for Sand Rock principal Ben East to make a recommendation to the Cherokee County Board of Education for the Wildcats’ baseball vacancy, Paul Hawk’s resume was too hard for him to ignore.

Hawk, a graduate of Emma Sansom High School in Gadsden, was a member of Jacksonville State’s 1991 Division II national championship team. He went on to coach baseball at Etowah, Piedmont, Crossville, and most recently, assisted the baseball team at Hokes Bluff the past four years.

On top of that, East said Hawk is a quality teacher who has a lot of energy – all elements he felt would make Hawk a great fit at Sand Rock.

On Tuesday evening, Hawk was officially hired as the new head baseball coach of the Wildcats. He replaces former coach Keith Cofield, who was let go at the end of the previous school year.

“I was very much interested in coming to Sand Rock, and I have been for a while,” Hawk said. “I wanted to be a head coach again, and I was very much interested in the position. I’m fortunate to get the opportunity. I’m very excited and looking forward to it.”

In addition to Hawk’s baseball duties, he’ll teach elementary P.E. and health as well as help with junior high basketball.

“We’re extremely excited to have Coach Hawk with us,” East said. “We interviewed several people and was impressed with a lot of the candidates we had, but ultimately it came down to experience and also the quality we think he’ll be in the classroom.

“It really helped that he had a lot of experience with several baseball programs. He’s been a head coach and he’s been involved with several quality programs. He’s been around winning programs, and I think those things will carry over to here. We’re looking forward to working with him. I think he’ll do some good things here.”

Hawk has already hit the ground running. He’s currently in Montgomery with the rest of the Sand Rock athletic staff at coaching clinics as part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s All-Star Sports Week.

Hawk said he plans to meet with his new players sometime within the next week. He’s looking forward to the challenges his new job will bring, particularly making Sand Rock a playoff contender once again.

“You’re talking about a real good school and athletic program all the way around, there were a lot of things that attracted me to this position,” Hawk said. “I’m just really excited about the opportunity.”