Coach Justin Chaney is a 26-year veteran championship softball coach at Newton County who led his teams to 17 state championships and over 900 wins.  Born in Meridian, Justin was a star baseball player at Newton County High who played in the Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star game in 1997.  He continued his baseball career at East Central Community College in Decatur where he was a member of the 1998 East Central state championship team and served as captain on the 1999 baseball squad.  Coach Chaney completed his education at Mississippi State and began his 26-year coaching career in 1999.  He spent his entire coaching career at his alma mater at Newton County where he began as an assistant football and softball coach before taking over the softball program as head coach.  Justin worked two stints as an assistant football coach and was in charge of softball for over 21 seasons.  Coach Chaney guided the Cougars in slow and fast pitch softball garnering over 950 victories.  Justin paced  Newton County in 648 fast pitch games with a record of 502 wins, 146 losses and 1 tie for a winning mark of 77%.  He led the slow pitch squad in 549 games to a mark of 454 wins, 95 losses, and no ties for a winning percentage of 82%.  Under his tutelage, Newton County claimed 10 slow pitch state titles and 7 fast pitch crowns for a total of 17 state championships in classes 3A and 4A.  His slow pitch squads were state runner-ups four times and his fast pitch teams were two-time state runner-ups.  On six occasions he led his slow and fast pitch teams to state championships in the same season.  In addition to his coaching success, Coach Chaney served as athletic director at Newton County for five years leading a staff of 45, 650 students, and an athletic budget of $200,000.  Under his direction as AD, he had 4 teams win a state title with several individual state champions in tennis.  Justin is a five-time MAC coach of the year, a two-time NFHS state coach of the year, a Max Preps Medium School Coach of the year, and the National Softball coach of the year in 2019 by the NHSACA.  Coach Chaney has served his profession in several capacities as a member of the MAC Board of Directors, Vice President, and a term as MAC President in 2023.  He was a longtime member of the MAC Softball Committee having served in that capacity from 2005 to 2022.  He has been a clinic speaker for the MAC and the NHSAA.  Coach Chaney has always been an active part of the community as he serves as a Deacon at the Hickory Baptist Church and coached travel ball squads and youth league teams at Beulah Hubbard.  He coached his daughter Hannah in softball and his son Jordan in football.