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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor 

BIRMINGHAM – Oak Mountain didn’t have to look far for its next athletic director, as the Eagles promoted varsity girls soccer head coach Chris Blight to the AD role.

“I’m very excited, very proud and honored,” Blight said. “It’s a big role and I’m excited to get to work.” 

Blight will take on a new challenge of running Oak Mountain’s entire athletic department in addition to his coaching role. He takes over in a time where Oak Mountain looks to continue their strong runs in soccer and basketball. 

Despite their success, he knows that Oak Mountain has work to do before it becomes one of the elite programs in the state. 

“I feel like we’ve always kind of been trying to play catch up with other athletic programs in the area,” Blight said. “We want to make Oak Mountain athletics as big and as prominent as we possibly can and I’m excited to be a big part of it.” 

He also joins at a crucial moment in the future of Oak Mountain football as new football coach Shane McComb instills a new culture in the program and lays the foundation for future success. 

Blight’s goal is to support all coaches, including McComb, and everyone at Oak Mountain as they strive to improve. 

“I just want to be a good support system for all the coaches, for all the people in the school and the community,” Blight said. “I want to be a resource to our students to come to. I just want to be as involved as I possibly can.” 

Ultimately, Blight loves sports and wants to promote the benefits of playing them to everyone in the Oak Mountain community, while also leaving as big of an impact as possible on the school. 

“I think there’s so many opportunities to be involved with the tremendous extracurricular activities that we have, support different students, different coaches and all aspects of the sports,” Blight said. “I’m a massive sports fan, always have been. I’m at all the different sporting events, cheering everyone on. I think now it’s just another way for me to help others, impact others and be a bigger part of Oak Mountain athletics.” 

Blight has carried on Oak Mountain’s legacy as a soccer powerhouse during his seven seasons at the helm of the varsity girls soccer program. The Englishman won the 7A state championship over Enterprise in 2021 to be named Shelby County Coach of the Year for girls soccer. 

The year before that, the Eagles were undefeated at 13-0-1 and ranked number one in the nation before the 2020 season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Blight, the Eagles have only lost more than four games in a season once. That includes the 2023 season, where Oak Mountain reached the Final Four for the fourth time in six years and won 22 games during the year. 

Blight is still committed to coaching girls soccer, and he looks forward to elevating all sports at Oak Mountain at the athletic director. 

“For me, it’s two different roles: there’s the coach and the AD,” Blight said. “I don’t necessarily think of it as a change. I’m still 100% dedicated to coaching the team and doing what we’ve done the same in the past. I’m there to promote all sports, not one particular sport for me.”