Southport Athletics announced on Monday, Jan. 13 that Sean Little will be the new head coach of the SHS football team.
Little isn’t a stranger to the Southport community. His roots began at SHS. Little attended Mary Bryan Elementary and Southport Middle and eventually graduated from SHS in 2005.
“I know the Southport area really well, so I’m excited to come back,” Little said.
Growing up, Little’s first love was wrestling, not football. He says his main focus in high school was wrestling, which resulted in him only playing football during his freshman year at SHS.
After graduating, Little knew he would go into the Navy after being influenced by the events of 9/11. Once his time ended and he returned home, he applied to many schools for both football and wrestling coaching positions.
Opportunities arose, and in 2013, Little was hired at Franklin Community as a wide receiver coach and a coach for the JV and freshman teams. During his time at Franklin, he found his passion for coaching.
After eight years working at Franklin Community, Little moved to the Louisville area. His wife had lived in Kentucky before, so it was most convenient for him and his family.
While in Kentucky, Little became the offensive coordinator at Ballard High School for two years. Another door opened for Little after a run to semi-state.
He accepted a new coaching job at Oldham County High School, another school in Kentucky. Their football team had a record of 0-11 before Little’s arrival and hadn’t been successful in six years.
During his two-year stretch at Oldham, he turned them into a competitive team that finished 3-8 in his first year and 6-5 in his second. He was also named Kentucky District 5 Coach of the Year back-to-back in the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
“Southport will be very unique (and) different from Oldham County, where I came from,” Little said. “It’s a process. It’s an everyday grind for the coaches, the administration (and) from the players.”
Athletic Director Nick Stevens is on board with what Little has set in place for the future.
“If we weren’t confident in that, he probably wouldn’t be our head coach,” Stevens said.
During the interview process, Stevens was impressed with Little’s confidence in the interviews, his coaching abilities and his interactions with his players, ultimately reassuring the athletic department that he was the best option.
“I don’t have any doubts with his abilities to coach, (and) if we had any doubts, he wouldn’t be considered for this position … ,” Stevens said. “(He has) positive reinforcement (and) positive correction. The way he interacts with the kids on the sidelines, I think, is one of his strengths.”
Junior running-back Riley Matlock met with Little on Tuesday, Jan. 14 along with other players of the football team. He says that while it is still early on, there is a lot to learn, but he thinks Little is a good coach overall based on what he knows right now.
“I think he knows what he’s talking about so far,” Matlock said. “I don’t really know him personally, so it’s going to take time building a relationship like I had with Bettag, but it just takes time.”
He is unsure how next year is going to go for the football team. Matlock believes it depends on how they react as a team.
As a whole, he thinks it will be a hard time adjusting, but he also feels that everyone will be on board and work hard for the success of the team.
“From what I’ve seen here through the administration (and) players, everybody is on board and wants to move this thing forward and focus on becoming a competitive program again,” Little said. “That’s really what the goal is, becoming a competitive program (and) finding out the steps we need to take.”
Little’s philosophy of creating a competitive program consists of a few things. Primarily, Little is a “relationship coach.” He believes in building relationships with not only just his players but everyone at SHS.
With this task at hand, he finds creating relationships is empowering for his players and coaches and makes them feel wanted. He strives for everyone to be better individuals, not just on the field, but in everyday life.
“My philosophy is coaching the whole person. We focus a lot on the X’s and O’s and that kinda stuff in football,” Little said. “But if you can coach the whole person (and) help them out in multiple ways, you’re going to get a better product on the field if they are a happy person all around.”
Additionally, Little has great respect for the previous century of SHS football. He hopes to educate his players on the history of Southport football. Little wants them to know the past to fuel the program’s pride.
Along with learning about the history, Little loves bringing back alumni. He wants to find SHS alumni in the Indiana area to come back and be involved in the Southport football community.
“Let them see this program and be a part of this program in some way or another,” Little said, “whether that’s through being a booster or through coaching or whatever that might be. My hope is to get the alumni actively involved.”
Regarding Little’s coaching staff, positions are up in the air at the moment. He is still evaluating the previous coaches under former head coach Alex Bettag’s staff.
Little is very fond of the idea of keeping some of the same staff as last year, but also is planning on bringing new faces into the organization as well.
“I think sometimes just a little reorganization and refocus on certain priorities … goes a long way when it comes to creating a staff,” Little said.
Along with football, Little is unsure what his future looks like inside of SHS. Little is licensed to teach special education, so Principal Amy Boone says the plan for Little is to teach in the building by the end of this school year if everything goes well.
Ultimately, on Friday nights, Little’s goal is to put the best football team on the field and have the fans and students be proud of what they watch.
“You’re never going to be able to guarantee wins. You’re never going to be able to guarantee undefeated seasons or anything like that,” Little said. “But you can put together a competitive program that’s going to be exciting to watch.”
While not everything is set in place for the 2025-26 football season, Little and the athletic department are ready to press on the gas and have objectives present to help guide SHS football to a turning point in time.
“I told them ‘The past is the past. Learn from it, but it’s time to move on. It’s time to refocus,’” Little said. “As a staff, we’re gonna put you in the best position to succeed.”
lucy :P • Jan 17, 2025 at 11:04 pm
also Aiden GREAT JOB on the graphics they look great!
lucy :p • Jan 17, 2025 at 11:04 pm
as always, lorelei u ate it UP. this story is so well written & in such a short time frame. you should be very proud of urself for all of the dedication & hard work u put into the journal! keep being awesome sauce