BEULAH — In the span of two weeks, the student-athletes of Beulah High School have witnessed the second departure of a head coach. Bobcats head baseball coach David Russell announced his resignation with the program on Wednesday morning.

“The kids have always been great,” Russell said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of parents who have come through here. One hundred percent of them were on board and really got behind what I was trying to do. I’m going to miss the assistant coaches, I finally got a full staff out here, they’re the best around here so it’s tough to leave a situation like that. You just miss the people at the end of the day.”

When Russell took over the program, the Bobcats only won seven games in five seasons. Beulah was 39-33 in Russell’s three seasons at the helm.

As of Wednesday morning, Russell said that he hasn’t given much thought to any other coaching opportunities yet.

“After every year you determine everything and see where you’re at as a program,” Russell said. “You see where you’re trying to take it, and where it aligns with what the athletic department is trying to do. I talked to some of my assistants, evaluated everything and I feel like it’s one of those things where there was a difference in the method of how to take the next step between me and others. It was just time to get a new voice in here and get something more suitable for what they’re trying to do.”

Beulah finished this past season with a winning record, but missed the state playoffs after finishing area play under .500. Lineup adjustments made from injuries and team dismissals forced the Bobcats to start younger fielders on the varsity level toward the end of the regular season. Beulah lost junior ace Colby Richey, who started the year with a 5-0 record with a 1.86 ERA, in the team’s first area game this year.

The team started the season 9-2, and received nominations to be ranked in the Alabama Sports Writers Association (ASWA) 3A prep poll for most of the season.

Russell remained appreciative of his first head coaching gig with his announcement.

“You have to thank [Beulah High School principal] Dr. Cincrystal Poythress. She had a young, 23-year-old kid that when I got here they were like ‘that’s a kid coaching kids,’” Russell said. “You have to thank them. It was an amazing staff to work with. Coach [Jeff] Butz, Coach [Jeffery] Lamb, Coach [Brandon] Carden is great, I can’t thank him enough. My assistants, Coach [Kevin] Capps, Coach [Michael] Courson and Coach [Richard] Harrell. They are amazing to work with, they love to do it the right way, they want to get better, they want to be at the park every day, they want to work, I never had any problems with that. You’re going to miss coaching with them.”

There was one more coach that Russell said he was going to miss at Beulah.

“With Coach [Cody] Flournoy leaving, man, I wish I could tell you how much he’s helped me,” Russell said. “Behind the scenes, he would call him all the time to make sure we had stuff for the baseball field. He worked with me on everything, this is how I handle this, this is how I handle that. I can’t tell you how much he’s helped me and it was tough to see him leave, but everybody’s got to do what they have to do.”

After two seasons as the team’s head football coach and leading the Bobcats to their best season in 23 years, Flournoy accepted an athletic director and head football coaching job at 5A Jackson in Jackson, Alabama on April 12.

“We’re moving forward in the process and we will release more information in regard to the baseball and football vacancies as the searches go on,” Beulah athletic director Richard Brown said.