Bristol Herald Courier | Tim Hayes | Photo Credit: Bristol Herald Courier
After a one-year sabbatical from coaching high school hoops, Aaron Williams will be back on the sidelines calling the shots for a Southwest Virginia program during the 2026-27 season.
The Honaker Tigers recently hired the 56-year-old Indiana native to lead their boys basketball team as they got a proven winner who had success in previous stops at Castlewood, J.I. Burton and Abingdon.
Williams was supposed to coach the Rye Cove Eagles last season (he had coached the junior varsity program at the school the year before) but resigned not long after taking the job.
How did he spend those winter months away from the game?
“I had a lot of time to reflect on the purpose of coaching high school sports,” Williams said. “At the end of the day basketball is the platform God has given me to have deeper relationships with boys who are becoming young men. I went to most of my daughter Sarah's games at Montreat College, spent some time with my new grandson and actually went to some high school games in Indiana.”
After talking at length with former Honaker coach Waylon Hart about the gig, the opportunity piqued his interest.
“As I looked into it, one thing led to another and things began to fall in place,” Williams said. “They have a great administration in [Principal] Mr. [David] Bostic and [Athletic Director] Trevor Coleman, so it made the decision easy.”