DEMOPOLIS &8212; Yesterday evening the Demopolis Board of Education approved the hiring of two new coaches for Demopolis High School to fill out the four positions vacated by out-going coaches from the previous school year.

Nathan Hallman and Russ Bedingfield were hired, along with coaches Brian Seymour and Ben Ramer, to fill coaching slots left empty by outgoing coaches James Moody, Matt Gilhagen, Dusty Davis and Buddy Lawrence. Both incoming coaches will serve roles as assistant baseball and football coaches for the school.

At the school, Bedingfield was all state in basketball, football and baseball. Seymour said he will be a great addition to the program, citing his coaching work at other schools.

Hallman, unlike the other new additions of the staff, has no ties to other members, but athletic director Tom Clausey said his resume spoke for itself. He cited Hallman&8217;s work at large programs in Tuscaloosa, like Tuscaloosa County High School, Hillcrest High School and Northside High School, as big factors in the hire. He said Hallman&8217;s number one focus will be with the baseball team, though he will also help with the football program.

Both coaches, as high school Principal Dr. Isaac Espy said at the onset of the search, will have roles in the classroom at the high school. Bedingfield will take over duties as the driver&8217;s education instructor at the school, while Hallman will teach social science.

Some teaching positions are still open at the high school and after the exeunt of coaches that the school has experienced, and Causey said it could be an option to fill those positions with other coaches, though he said nothing is definite.