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Published May 11, 2021
Ocean Lakes Hires James Yeager, Formerly of Princess Anne
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Matthew Hatfield  â€¢  VirginiaPreps
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Another coaching change has hit the Beach District in football this spring.

James Yeager, who orchestrated a quick turnaround at Princess Anne High School, is departing for the same job as Head Football Coach of the Ocean Lakes Dolphins.

"It's just longevity. Ocean Lakes is in Division 6, there are a lot of resources at the school, more feeder programs, plus a lot of tradition there. They've been to a couple State Championships in the last eight or nine years and won one of them. They've got everything that you'd want," Yeager told VirginiaPreps.com.

"I know we beat them at PA. I owe that a lot to the kids, coaching and great admin support. I just feel like there's a higher ceiling here at Ocean Lakes. The idea of that is exciting with my career ambitions. You see potential at a certain place and that's the best place where you can go and be."

Yeager, 34, won 11 of the 16 games at the helm of the Cavaliers, who had suffered through 18 consecutive seasons at or below the .500 mark prior to his arrival. The 8-3 mark in 2019 was PA's best since 2000 when the team - led by Division I talents C.J. Fayton (Tennessee), Cedric Humes (Virginia Tech) and Kai Parham (UVA) - went 9-2 overall under Jeff Ballance.

In fact, the lone two teams to beat PA in the Beach District were Salem and Bayside. The Sun Devils handled the Cavaliers 46-12 in 2019 and then prevailed 12-6 in overtime in the season-opener for the abbreviated 2020-21 campaign. The Marlins beat PA 14-12 in 2019 before rallying for 37-30 victory on March 26th this past year.

"Princess Anne will always have a special place in my heart. Bob Robbins and Mr. [Danny] Little gave me an opportunity. We were able to be one of the top teams in the Beach pretty consistently the last two years," Yeager commented.

"PA only pulls from three-quarters of Independence Middle School, so building up a big program with the numbers that you want to be successful to try and go win playoff games and compete for a state title, it's hard. Lacking the numbers and the depth, I don't want that to be a perpetual excuse for not being able to get over the hump."


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