Stone Bridge High School has selected veteran coach Mike Skinner, who won a state football title at Centreville in 2000 and has strong ties to Loudoun, as the new varsity softball coach, replacing Stephanie (Walley) Tidwell who stepped down last month.

Skinner, 88-25 (.779) in 10 football seasons at Marshall and Centreville, is the father of Andy Skinner, an assistant football coach on Stone Bridge's 2007 AAA Division 5 state title team. Andy Skinner played under Stone Bridge coach Mickey Thompson at Park View High School. Skinner remained as an assistant football coach at Centreville after resigning as head coach after the 2006 season.

Skinner, a 28-year coaching veteran, coached football, wrestling, softball and baseball while at Marshall and was an assistant coach, along with son Gerard Skinner, at Madison last season. Skinner's daughter Veronica was a member of the Park View softball team that captured the state title in 2002. Tidwell was an assistant on that team and later Park View head coach in 2004 and 2005 before moving over to Stone Bridge where she led the Bulldogs to the state title game in 2006 and to a quarterfinal appearance last season. Tidwell is stepping down to spend more time with her family.

Skinner won't be the only new coach on the Ashburn campus as Kristin Howard and Scott Mitchell take over the reigns of the lacrosse programs and Spanish exchange teacher Javier Covo Grandes is the new boys tennis coach, where no doubt "big" things will be expected.