NEWPORT NEWS — Hampton Roads Academy (HRA) recently announced that award-winning coach, educator, and counselor Rodney Taylor will take the helm of the school’s varsity football program ahead of the fall 2026 season.
Coach Taylor’s appointment comes as the Academy’s revitalized varsity football team enters its second year back on the field following a seven-year hiatus. With over 20 years of coaching experience and a proven record of building competitive and student-centered football programs, Taylor is well-equipped to lead HRA’s Navigators into their next chapter, the school said.
“He is the right leader to elevate Navigator Football and inspire our student-athletes to demonstrate strong character, disciplined effort, respect, and pride, both on and off the field, as we continue building a successful program,” said Laura Stoner, Director of Athletics at HRA.
Most recently, Taylor served as Head Football Coach at Menchville High School in Newport News, where he transformed a team that had previously won three games or fewer for 17 straight years into a winning program with five playoff appearances across Taylor’s seven seasons with the school, including playoff victories in 2021 and 2022. As a testament to his immediate success leading his team on the gridiron and cultivating players who excelled academically and personally as well as athletically, Taylor was honored with the 2019-2020 Peninsula District Coach of the Year award in his first year at Menchville.
Taylor’s leadership had a similarly transformative impact in his prior role as junior-varsity head coach across town at Heritage High School. Arriving to a football team that had just gone 0-10 in its last season, Taylor improved his program’s record each year, culminating in an incredible undefeated season in 2013.
As he prepares to build on his remarkable momentum as a coach at HRA, Taylor said, “I’m most looking forward to watching our players come together as a team and seeing their growth from day one of camp to that first kickoff in the fall. The excitement of Friday nights, competing together, and representing Hampton Roads Academy with pride is something special. I’m also excited about laying the foundation for long-term success, setting standards, building confidence, and creating memories that these young men will carry well beyond the season.”
In addition to his work on the field, Taylor will join HRA’s faculty as a Middle and Upper School learning specialist. In this position, he will contribute invaluably to the programming of the Academy’s Student Support Center (SSC) as it expands its services beyond the Upper School to the Middle School.
According to Head of School Jay Lasley, “Rodney Taylor will be an asset to Hampton Roads Academy both on the field and in the classroom. With his emphasis on character, accountability, and personal growth, he deeply understands the synergy between academic and athletic success, particularly at an independent school.”
“We are deeply grateful to our previous head football coach, HRA alumnus Dave Legg ’80, who skillfully stewarded the team through its transition from JV to varsity,” Lasley added. “I cannot wait to see Coach Taylor take this program to the next level in the fall.”
