Even at a young age, Justin Reed knew what he wanted to do when he grew up.

Unlike most kids that aspire to be a fireman or a doctor, Reed wanted to be a baseball coach.
And coaching he has done.

After six seasons at his alma mater Louisville, the 31-year-old Reed made his debut as South Panola’s new head coach Saturday afternoon as the Tigers tookpart in the Cleveland jamboree.
While leaving his hometown was a tough decision, Reed said the transition  has been relatively smooth.

“It was a tough leaving home, but I wanted to have an opportunity to coach at the Class 6A level and to coach at the highest level of baseball that I feel is the best in Mississippi. I also wanted to coach a group of guys that baseball means the world to them and to move my family into a great town and a great situation,” said Reed.

A two-sport letterman in baseball and football, Reed graduated from Louisville High School in 1999 before  earning a baseball scholarship to East Central Community College.

After playing two seasons in Decatur, Reed earned a bachelors degree in  physical education with a concentration in teaching and coaching from Mississippi State University. Reed is currently teaching health at South Panola.

Upon finishing his degree, Reed coached three years at Nanih Waiya Attendence Center then moved back to Louisville where he served as athletic director and head baseball coach for the last three seasons.

Reed replaces former Tiger coach Patrick Robey who left the South Panola program after ten seasons to take the head job at Lafayette County.

“I have known coach Robey for a long time and have the utmost respect for him and what kind of program he built here at South Panola, I just hope we can beat his new team this year,“ Reed said jokingly.

South Panola is set to host Lafayette County March 23.

For the one individual who influenced him the most throughout his baseball career, Reed thought back to his coach at East Central that came to mind.

“Jamie Clark was my coach at East Central and I knew what I wanted to do after college and we talked about it a lot. I was a Co-Captain my sophomore year and he call the other Co-Captain and myself into his office one day and told us he had a brain tumor so we had to battle that with him throughout the remainder of that year. He ended up passing away in June before we graduated the next May. He basically took a program and built it from the ground up and kind of put it on the map so to speak. He was a guy that was into the sport for all the right reasons. So yeah he had a big impact on my coaching career.”

Reed and his wife Nikki, have two children, seven-year old son, Lake, and four-year-old daughter, Emmi Rose.