MARTINSVILLE, VA – Joe Fielder has been named the new head football coach for Martinsville High School.
In just one year as head coach for Chatham High School, Fielder doubled the number of students participating in football, restarted the JV program, which had been dormant since 2019 and helped the team to its best statistical team scoring defense since 2007, according to a press release from Martinsville City Public Schools.
While he was earning his degree in physical education, Fielder worked as a student assistant coach for the Ferrum College football team.
After graduating from Ferrum, he joined the staff at Magna Vista High School as a defensive coordinator.
During his 14 seasons at MVHS, he coached the 2015 and 2019 Piedmont District defensive players of the year and the team won consecutive state titles (2014 and 2015), five consecutive district titles, and made playoff appearances each year from 2009 onward, the release stated.
Fielder said building relationships is an essential part of his approach to coaching.
“I enjoy working with our players and coaches and building those relationships,” he said. “I think it is important to lead our players to not just becoming good players on the field, but to become good people off it. I think football teaches a lot of valuable life lessons and seeing our players learn and grow and become great young men in society is really important to me. There is comradely in football that you really won’t find in other places.”
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