“My dad’s been a coach my whole life, my brother’s a coach now, I’ve seen the business forever, so this means a lot,” Helms said. “I wasn’t necessarily expecting to take a head coaching job this early in my career but after some praying and thinking about I think this is a great opportunity for me and my family. We love the community here at Blanket, we love the administration and the kids.”

Helms will begin his fourth year as a coach in the 2024 season, and his first year as a head coach, with a stop off in Water Valley before starting his time in Blanket.

The Tigers are coming off a 5-5 season in 2023 and missed the postseason, after posting a 8-3 record in 2022 with a trip to the bi-district round of the playoffs. Blanket will compete in District 13-A Division II for the next two years along with Zephy and Rising Star – who both are coming off back-to-back bi-district campaigns, along with Sidney and Gustine.

“We always have high expectations around here, the playoffs are always the goal,” Helms said. “We got put in a little bit of a tougher district during realignment, but we have some younger guys that are stepping up now. We’re not going to be as big as we’ve been, but I don’t think that’s going to be as big of a problem as people might think. We have a lot of speed and some good skill players.”

In terms of long-term objectives for his tenure at Blanket, Helms said, “The goal is always to serve the kids. I’ve had great coaches growing up that have impacted my life and I want to impact these young mens’ lives and be a good role model for them and the community. Everybody likes to win and that’s always going to be a goal, but I want to make these kids’ lives better as well.”