FORT KNOX, Ky. — Officials at Fort Knox Middle High School last week announced that a new head coach will be taking control of the Eagles football program starting in the 2023-24 school year.
The announcement comes as no surprise for those who know Coach Wes Arnold; he had publicly announced it in November 2022, after leading the Eagles in accomplishing many personal and school achievements over the past five years. His assistant coach, Ken Walter, was named as the new head coach beginning in the fall.
In the wake of this latest news, Arnold listed three reasons for stepping down.
“My boys are ages 7, 5 and 2,” said Arnold. “My wife works full time, too, and I just started missing too much of their lives.”
Arnold said he has often felt torn between spending time with his sons and time with his football players, whom he also considers his kids.
“I knew I needed to follow through with the team, but I was also missing soccer games and school events with my kids,” said Arnold. “Life is just going to keep getting busier for us as they get more involved, so there was never going to be a right time for me to step away.”
Arnold got his start in 2010 as an assistant coach at Fort Knox. He coached here for seven years before accepting a position as an assistance coach at Central Hardin High School for three years. He attributed much of his successes to his time at Central Hardin.
“I served under Tim Mattingly; I learned a lot from him,” said Arnold. “We won two regional championships while I was there and got to the state semis a couple of times at 6A – the biggest level.”
He came into his head coaching job at Fort Knox in 2018 with three main goals: getting the team’s number of wins up from rock bottom; beating Fort Campbell; and finishing a season in the win category.
He considers that first year to be one of the toughest — for him and the 27 players who suited up.
“We had five-year-old uniforms, and there was a mix-up with the paint on our helmets, so some kids had black helmets, some had green,” said Arnold. “It was a rag-tag year, but the players came through it and set the tone for the following years.”
Arnold wasn’t able to accomplish any of his goals that year, but by 2019 he had fixed the uniform and helmet issues. He also had over 40 players suit up for the team. They accomplished two of the three goals when they earned some unexpected wins and beat the Fort Campbell Falcons in the Army Bowl, at Fort Campbell, breaking a 16-year losing streak.
“That was a pretty special moment,” said Arnold.
Arnold managed to get the players new locker rooms for the 2020 season. They remained empty, however.
While the Kentucky High School Athletics Association announced that despite the threats of COVID-19 they would allow the football season to go forward, with tight restrictions, officials at Department of Defense Education Activity decided to halt football games at all military schools.
“That was probably the most challenging thing I had to do as a head coach was tell the team that we weren’t going to have a season,” said Arnold. “It was tough for us and the Fort Campbell kids.”
When the team returned to the field in 2021, they proved that the magic at Fort Knox was real, winning more games than they had in several years and again beating Fort Campbell in the Army Bowl — this time on home turf.
As the school’s pick for Arnold’s replacement, Walter knows how to win.
He started his coaching career in Florida in the lower levels of the public school system, including time as a head coach at a middle school, before landing a high school position as an assistant coach in 2003, when the team won the state championship.
“I had some good mentor coaches starting out,” said Walter. “I think that’s very much key to success.”
Walter then received a call from DODEA to head coach a high school football team in Taegu, Korea. He asked if they had a football team, and they said yes.
“I should have asked them a little bit more,” said Walter. “They hadn’t won a game in four years. I had a right guard who was 140 pounds. But the job let me reset everything.”
Walter turned the program, quickly won five Fareast championships in six years. He then moved to Europe and repeated his successes at Rota, Spain, winning three championships in three years.
Walter said building a winning program is hard because military children are often moving around just as coaches are settling in on having them on the squad.
“It’s hard to build a tradition because you’re only as good as your last season,” said Walter. “But the good part about that is you’re only as bad as your current season, so it’s easier to change the tone and atmosphere of a program.”
Walter served as Arnold’s assistant coach last season, so he already comes at the head coaching job with an understanding of the Eagles and their unique circumstances, including the challenge of trying to turn a transient military team into a powerhouse against traditional teams.
“To me football is a really simple game, and I’m an offensive/defensive line guy. I come at the game as a teacher,” said Walter. “This challenge makes things more exciting in a way because I’m asking, ‘Can I do it? Can I repeat the successes I’ve had at other places?’
“That remains to be seen.”
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