By Kyle Mooty

The Eufala Tribune

Lakeside Headmaster Rick Rainer  officially welcomed aboard the Chiefs’ new football coach, Dan Klages, on Wednesday.

Klages and his wife, Janna, will be moving back to Eufaula after relocating to Bainbridge, Georgia, where Klages has been an assistant coach after retiring from Eufaula in the spring of 2015. They have two daughters, Hanna, 27, and Hayley, 23.

“I still think we hit a home run,” Rainer said

Rainer’s optimism is with good reason as Klages brings loads of experience to the AISA school. Perhaps as important, Klages could bring stability to a program that has endured its fourth hire of a head football coach in as many years.

Klages will officially leave Bainbridge on Feb. 15, and plans to join Lakeside immediately. His plans are to hopefully have some type of spring football season, although the Chiefs’ baseball season could alter those plans depending on how far they go into the playoffs as well as how many players will be absent due to baseball season.

“First of all, we want to be competitive every time we go out on Friday night,” Klages said after signing his Lakeside contract in the school’s gymnasium Wednesday. “We want to build on the success they had here last year. Fundamentals are first and we’ll have a strength and conditioning program. Hopefully, we’ll do some things that the players will want to be a part of.”

Lakeside Athletic Director Tom Clements played quarterback for Klages when he was the head coach at Admiral Moorer Middle School and when he was an assistant under Rush Propst at Eufaula High School one season before he became the head coach at New Brockton.