Matt Kinsinger is no stranger to high school football in Garland County.
Now he gets his opportunity to lead one of the county's seven high school football programs.
Kinsinger, who has been an assistant coach at Fountain Lake and Lake Hamilton, takes over as Cutter Morning Star's new head football coach.
Cutter Morning Star Principal Matt Carter confirmed the hiring to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Monday. Kinsinger replaces T.C. Shamel, who left Cutter Morning Star, located in Hot Springs, for an offensive coordinator position at Fountain Lake under Kenny Shelton in May.
Carter said he received a recommendation from Lake Hamilton Coach Tommy Gilleran on Kinsinger, who recently served as Lake Hamilton's defensive coordinator. Gilleran's resume, which includes a Class 3A state championship at Fountain Lake in 2009, impressed Carter and knew that Kinsinger was going to be a good fit for the Eagles thanks in part to his time with Gilleran.
"It was a great interview," Carter said. "We're lucky to have him."
After playing at NCAA Division II Slippery Rock in Pennsylvania and spending nine seasons in the Arena Football League with Las Vegas, San Jose and Chicago, Kinsinger, 43, entered coaching in the early 2010s.
Kinsinger was a linebackers coach at Fountain Lake in 2012-15 before taking the same position at Hot Springs Lakeside in 2016. Then, when Gilleran was hired at Lake Hamilton in 2017, Kinsinger joined his former boss from Fountain Lake as defensive coordinator.
Being able to coach with Gilleran was important for his career, Kinsinger said. Gilleran encouraged Kinsinger to look at the Cutter Morning Star position and after a meeting, he did.
"He's got a wealth of knowledge," Kinsinger said. "His experience, you can't get that anywhere else. He knows how to run a program."
With Kinsinger on staff, Lake Hamilton went 9-3 in 2019, advancing to the Class 6A quarterfinals before losing at West Memphis.
Cutter Morning Star finished 6-5 last season and lost to McCrory in the first round of the Class 2A state playoffs.
Cutter Morning Star will be the fourth Garland County high school for Kinsinger. Carter said his familiarity with the area will help the Eagles.
"I think it's very beneficial," Carter said. "The kids will know him. He can help us with our fundraising. He's got so many contacts."
While teams across the state had the option of beginning in-person workouts June 1, Cutter Morning Star didn't start until June 8. Kinsinger said the Eagles have been working out three days a week but plans to increase workouts to four days a week in July.
Kinsinger plans to run the Wing-T offense, which is what Gilleran utilizes at Lake Hamilton. The Eagles ran a Spread offense under Shamel, so Kinsinger admitted that he is going to use some of those formations along with the Wing-T in the early going.
"It's one of the most adaptable offenses for kids," Kinsinger said. "You can tailor it to what your team is looking like. It's as complex as you want to it to be, or it can be as simple as you want it to be."
Kinsinger had a meet and greet with Eagles players and parents Monday and said he expects 30-35 players in the program. He credited Shamel for the work he did with the program.
"T.C. has done a good job," Kinsinger said. "He made the program better. He didn't leave the cupboard bare for me. We'll build off of that and go forward."