From the Bench: Indians' Newest Varsity Head Coach Finds First Coaching Itch 8,000-Plus Miles from Home
By Jeff Toquinto on June 07, 2026 from Sports Blog
Sometimes, you cannot control when inspiration hits you. For 2011 Bridgeport High School graduate, the moment he felt the desire to coach was far away from where he spent most of his high school playing days.
Like other side of the world far. The inspiration for the former Indian soccer standout came 8,440 miles from Wayne Jamison Field.
At that time, Nathaniel Jones was on a Mission trip in Bangalore, India. He was with several others, and he was instructing children and adults into their 50s the game of soccer.
“When I graduated, I never thought about coaching, but that changed on the Mission trip to Afrida,” Jones said. “After that experience, when I got back home, I realized that I loved the concept of coaching a lot more than I thought.”
Fast forward to today or rewind seven years ago. Since 2019, Jones has been the assistant boys soccer coach for BHS and Coach Keith Dumas. This year, with Dumas stepping down to lead the Bridgeport girls team, Jones is the new coach for the Tribe who will be looking to defend the school’s first-ever state title during the 2026 season.
“Everything worked out, particularly with the timing. Keith had caught wind of my desire to coach and called me,” said Jones. “Being able to have a chance to coach at my alma mater made it sweeter. Having the opportunity to be the head coach feels awesome.”
The hiring of Jones came with the full endorsement of Dumas, the state championship winning coach and former Division I soccer player. The two have been together since Dumas took over the program.
“He’s been my assistant for seven years, and he’s earned the opportunity to coach the team,” said Dumas. “He knows the game extremely well. In fact, I never hesitated to take his advice or suggestions he had for our team. In my opinion we were co-coaches.
“When you’re the head coach, you’re the person who gets the glory when things go well, but Nathaniel was just as responsible for our success,” Dumas continued. “I feel strongly he’s going to do well. They know him, and they respect him, which should allow for success to .jpg)
continue with him leading the way.”
continue with him leading the way.”
Jones said he has had the bug to be the head coach of a program for a few years now. But he wanted to wait for the opportunity if it came at Bridgeport – and the wait he believes is worth it.
“This was kind of the plan all along when I started coaching to take it when he was done if the opportunity presented itself, and it did,” said Jones, a former four-year player for BHS. “After the first two years, I felt like I was ready. But, sitting under him and being able to learn about professionalism, game management, administrative things, and the other ins and outs proved to be worth it. I feel more ready now that I did when I thought I was ready several years ago.”
As noted in last week’s blog, Dumas did not step down because of the magical 20-1-2 season that ended in a 3-1 Class AAA state title clinching victory and the cupboard would be bare. He did so for a chance to coach his daughter on the BHS girls side of the soccer ledger.
“We should be in good shape, and I am excited. The bar is set extremely high coming off the state championship, and the goal is to repeat,” said Jones, who works at Bridgeport Physical Therapy following college graduation as a physical therapy assistant. “We’ve got a lot of key players coming back, including Grayson (Church) who we lost at the start of the postseason due to injury. “We’re excited for him and everyone else returning as well as our newcomers.”
Jones is getting a look at the new team this week with flex practices, which started last week. He hopes to see even more over the summer.
“This is the time when we all get adjusted to the new dynamic. I’m looking at keeping the strong discipline, work ethic, and the high standard in place, and even going higher,” he said. “In the end, it is teaching the players beyond sports. It’s teaching them to respect the authority of coaches, referees, their elders and understanding the highs and lows of a season translate to life. It’s about teaching them to become men in all facets of life.”
As for soccer, Jones knows even with a solid core back, there are holes that need to be filled. And he said the template was set when Church went down.
“The younger players stepped up when that happened, and others took on more responsibility. We have a good team returning, but we’ll need that to happen to fill what we lost to graduation,” said Jones. “You have to have a lot of things go right, but there is a road back to a title in front of us.”
The road begins at Wayne Jamison Field. Jones hopes it ends at the YMCA Paul Cline Memorial Youth Sports Complex in Beckley that is 139 miles away.
Jones already has the inspiration to get back there. And that is much closer than the 8,440 miles where the inspiration initially struck to get him on the BHS sidelines.
Editor's Note: Top photo shows Nathaniel Jones after last year's state championship, while former Coach Keith Dumas is shown in the second photo by Joe LaRocca. Third image shows Jones, far right, during his sophomore year at BHS in 2008. All other photos courtesy of Jones.
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