The Christian County Colonels officially have ‘their guy’ to lead the Colonel football program going forward. Christian County High School principal Kevin Crider made the formal introduction of Ethan Atchley as the man who had been selected to take over the Colonels heading towards the 2024 football season.
The announcement took place in the media center at Christian County in front of players, supporters, staff, and the search committee involved in the selection of Atchley as the next Colonel football coach. Prior to the announcement, the new coach spent time with the current juniors, sophomores, freshmen, and 8th graders who will make up the vast majority of the team when spring practice arrives.
Atchley replaces ‘interim’ head coach Zach Self, who took over during the 2022 season and coached the 2023 season for Christian County.
Atchley is a 2011 graduate of the University of Kentucky and received his master’s from University of the Cumberlands in 2013. After serving as defensive coordinator at Lexington Christian Academy and Lafayette High School, Atchley moved to the ranks of head coach at Lexington Christian Academy, where he spent five seasons as the head coach running from 2014 through 2018. His 2016 went 12-1, losing to Danville in the third round of the Class 2A playoffs, the following year, LCA went 11-2 and again lost to Danville in the third round of the playoffs.
During his five years at Lexington Christian, Atchley’s teams went 46-18.
After his time at LCA, Atchley took over as the head coach at Bullitt East High School. In three seasons as head coach of the Charges, his coaching record was 17-16. His 2021 team went 8-4, losing to Louisville Male in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs.
Atchley was named the coach at Lexington Lafayette ahead of the 2022 season but never coached at the school after deciding not to take the position. He would instead end up in Frankfort that fall. The Panthers would go 7-5, losing to Newport Central Catholic in the second round of the Class A playoffs.
In March of 2023, Frankfort school officials announced that Atchley would not be retained as the head coach for the 2023 season.
Atchley takes over a Colonel team that finished the 2023 season at 2-9, losing its last six games.
As for getting started, Atchley stated that he plans to commute from Georgetown for the immediate time being as the team starts working towards spring practice.
Coach Atchley and his wife Emily have four children; Abigayle, EJ, Elijah, and Franklin.
