CARTERVILLE — Mike Mooneyham, a now retired high school basketball coach, has taken over the head coaching duties this spring semester for the John A. Logan College men's golf team on an interim basis from longtime Vols head coach Tom Ferris, who is battling health issues.
"This job is really important to me and it's kind of perfect," said Mooneyham, who coached for multiple decades at Johnston City and Herrin high schools. "I live here in Carterville now and started helping Coach Ferris in the fall. It was a part-time job that has grown into a full-time job."
Ferris is the only coach at Logan with any national championships on his resume, having led the Vols to titles in 2009 and 2011, as well as several high finishes at national tournaments over the years. Moreover, the now 83-year-old was inducted into the Golf Coaches of America Hall of Fame.
Ferris said Mooneyham is the right guy to lead the program in his absence.
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"Mike's done a fine job so far and I am confident that he will continue to do a fine job," Ferris said. "Taking over the head coaching reins is a learning process and Mike wants to learn. We have a good connection."
Ferris, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatments, said he is feeling better by the day and hopes to assist Mooneyham this spring if his health continues to improve.
"Do I still want to be involved? Absolutely. But will I? We'll just have to wait and see how things go," Ferris said. "Much of my participation is based on how I feel moving forward. Because of the chemo, my immune system is at zero. But I plan to help out wherever I can with recruiting, consulting, whatever."
Mooneyham said he has played golf for years and has always been interested in the game.
"It's a perfect fit for me," he said. "The high school stuff - I retired from that - but I still like to coach and coaching golf for Logan gives me that opportunity. It's a little bit different than my high school days, but I really enjoy it."
Mooneyham praised Ferris for his work with the golf program.
"Tom has done a fantastic job here. He's still a part of the team and gives me a lot of help when I need it. The recruiting is (fascinating). It's something that I've never done before, but always felt that I would have liked to have done it. Now, I get that opportunity."
The Vols start the spring campaign on Feb. 1.
"It's about to get hectic," he said. "We've got five regular-season tournaments, the district tournament, and then hopefully, the nationals. We've got a good team. I can't wait to get started."
