Lowndes Academy coach Shane Moye values faith, family
Published 5:17 pm Tuesday, June 13, 2023
Coach Shane Moye hugs a Lowndes Academy varsity football player after winning the 2022 Alabama Independent School Association Football State Championship game.
Lowndes Academy coach Shane Moye celebrates winning the 2022 Alabama Independent School Association Football State Championship.
Coach Shane Moye proudly values family time above everything else. Pictured are (left to right, standing) daughter Parker Moye, wife Kayla Moye, Shane Moye, and son Wilson Moye; (kneeling) daughter Pearsyn Moye.
Shane Moye coached the Lowndes Academy Rebels to two back-to-back Alabama Independent School Association Football State Championships in 2021 and 2022.
Coach Shane Moye and the coaching staff at Lowndes Academy led the school’s varsity baseball team to win the 2023 Alabama Independent School Association Baseball State Championship.
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By Courtney Rice
Coach Shane Moye of Lowndes Academy was nominated as baseball and football Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Coach of the Year after the Rebels took home the title of state champions in varsity football and baseball. Moye is a teacher and coach who values time with his family and his faith in God and attributes his career success to God’s blessings.
At Lowndes Academy, Moye teaches elementary physical education, a role in which his dedication to developing student athletes shines through.
“Coach Shane is very fun and has a great rapport with his younger students. He treats them like they are his own kids.” said Barry Mohun, principal of Lowndes Academy. “Coach Shane holds his players accountable and he does things the right way. He is a good role model for our students and they respect him a lot!”
Moye said his goal as coach and teacher is to build real and lasting relationships with his students. He cares about what is going on in their lives and focuses to help students grow into upstanding young men and women.
Moye noted he also wants students to feel they can come to him for any reason, and to know that he cares for them beyond winning or losing a game.
The veteran coach said he hopes his players will think, “One day, I want my kids to play for Coach Shane.”
The Pensacola, Florida native values spending quality time with his family, time which takes precedent over anything else. His father was his first baseball coach when Moye was just 4 years old, and once he started playing, his love of the sport never stopped.
Moye played baseball at Auburn University in Montgomery (AUM), where he studied education in the undergraduate program and began assistant coaching. As a child Moye dreamed of playing baseball professionally, but his dream changed after meeting his wife of 13 years, Kayla Moye.
“God ended my first love of baseball and introduced me to the true love of my life, giving me a new vision of a family,” said Moye.
Moye proudly speaks of his 11 year old daughter, Parker, his 8 year old daughter ,Pearsyn, and his 6 year old son Wilson. The couple said their hands are full with 11 dogs, three cats, and a new litter of puppies.
Between their full schedule of weekend sporting events, the Moye family enjoys deer hunting and fishing together on their 30 acres in Hope Hull.
“When I’m home, I’m home.” said Moye, “I’m a big family man and it’s important for me to be there for my wife and kids and share in all of their important moments.”
As a man of faith, Moye eagerly attributes his successes to God. He openly shares his faith with his students and players and feels their own close relationship with Christ is the ultimate goal. Moye said he believes God blessed him with state championships in 2021 and 2022 after he was offered another coaching opportunity, but turned it down to keep his family and support at Lowndes Academy.
According to Moye, the teams could not have achieved any of this without the school’s other coaches. He said he is proud that this year Lowndes Academy competed in the AISA state championship tournament for every major sport. He has the utmost respect for the other coaches and all the hard work they pour into the players and students.
The coaches that work closely with Moye include: Cliff Cobb, Brandon Self, Steven Self, Rob Hollingshead, Jon Kreder, Wade Howard, Mark Owen, and Matt Marshall, defensive coordinator and athletic director, who Moye describes is like a brother to him.
“Lowndes Academy is a tight family and like any family we have had ups and downs but we never stop loving each other and pulling for each other,” Marshall said. “We, as coaches and staff, are on a team, and it takes every puzzle piece to make it work. Shane does a great job of helping keep this family focused and moving forward. I appreciate all his hard work and dedication, and I am proud of all of his success.”
The Lowndes Academy community is special, Moye said, because they really show up for each other. A majority of the faculty, staff, parents, and community members attend all the different boys and girls sporting events, and put their hearts into cheering for the student athletes.
Moye said he is very thankful to the Lowndes Academy family, and the Lowndes County community, for welcoming him and his family with open arms and supporting his entire career there.
When asked if he sees himself doing anything else in the future, Moye responded, “If I’m lucky enough and, God willing, I hope to be able to coach my son one day. Our motto is ‘Create your legacy and how you want to be remembered.’ I’m a coach. It’s built into me and is what I was meant to do, and I will be one forever.”
