Dalton Hill has been tabbed to take over the Waynesville High School football program.
Hill was hired by the Waynesville Board of Education two weeks ago as the Tigers’ new football head coach. He will also serve as WHS strength and conditioning instructor. In the past he has taught physical education, health and strength and fitness as well as special education.
A meet-and-greet with Hill at WHS has been scheduled for Friday, March 28, although the time has yet to be determined.
He replaces Kyle Barkley as Waynesville Tiger head coach. Barkley resigned the coaching position following the 2024 season, his third as Tiger head coach. Barkley is currently the ninth-grade principal at the high school and plans to stay in the school district. His wife, Amber, is the WHS volleyball head coach and both of their daughters, junior Kynleigh and freshman Alayna, are student-athletes at the high school.
“I had a conversation with my family and my fiancée (Haleigh) and decided this was the move we needed to make,” Hill said. “Part of it was (moving up to a larger school). I think Waynesville has all the bones it needs to be successful. There are amazing facilities there and they play in the COC (Central Ozark Conference), which is one of the best conferences in the state.”
“We are extremely excited to have Dalton as our next head football coach,” said Cory Ace, WHS Director of Activities and Athletics. “His energy is off the charts and his depth of knowledge of the game is high. His work ethic, ability to motivate and communication skills will surely be an added value to the athletic department.”
It will be the second head coaching position for Hill, who is just 26 years old. The past two seasons he has been head coach at Palmyra High School, a Class 2 program. The Palmyra Panthers finished 3-7 in 2024 and 2-8 in 2023. Prior to that Hill was an assistant football coach at his alma mater, Mark Twain High School.
Hill was a standout offensive lineman at NCAA Division II powerhouse Northwest Missouri State, where at guard he was recognized as one of the nation’s top interior offensive lineman, ranking No. 19 on the College Football Network’s Top 20 list. At Northwest Missouri Hill was a teammate for several years with former Waynesville High all-stater and Division II All-American defensive lineman Sam Roberts. Roberts is currently a defensive lineman in the NFL, with the Carolina Panthers.
Hill graduated from Northwest Missouri State in 2021 with a degree in physical education. He was a 2017 Mark Twain High School graduate, and was a Missouri Class 1 All-State selection as an offensive lineman as a senior during the 2016 campaign.
He takes over a Waynesville program that has struggled to be competitive in recent years. During Barkley’s three seasons as WHS head coach, the program has made some gains, specifically in roster size and offseason/weight training participation. However, the Tigers continued to struggle winning games, finishing with a 5-26 overall record during Barkley’s stint – including a 0-10 campaign in 2024 – Waynesville’s first season as a member of the rugged Central Ozark Conference (COC).
Since Missouri Sports Hall-of-Famer Rick Vernon retired after 33 years as Waynesville head coach in 2014, the Tigers have had just one winning season and a combined 23-80 overall record – 4-27 under Brad Drehle, 14-27 under Joe Haynes and 5-26 under Barkley.
Over the last 10 seasons the Tigers have had three winless campaigns.
So Hill’s top task is to turn the culture of Tiger football back into a winner.
“The structure is there to be successful,” Hill said. “We’ll try to get the right coaches in place and we’ll make some changes offensively and defensively. If you get the right people in place and push everyone upwards, you will go up.”
Hill said it must begin in the weight room.
“Whatever we do in the weight room will come to live in the respective sports,” he said. “It’s going to show up on the practice and game fields. Getting in the weight room is a must; it’s the No. 1 pillar of the program.”
Hill has experience improving a program. At Palmyra he took over a team that was winless and had averaged just eight points per game the previous season and improved that to an 18-point-per-game average in 2023 and 25 points in 2024.
Depending on the personnel he has to work with, Hill hopes to have a balanced offensive attack and an aggressive defensive scheme.
“We want to be offensively a version of the (Kyle) Shanahan/(Sean) McVay (NFL) system,” Hill said. “Be as balanced as possible in pass and run. We’ll use a variety of motions and shifts. And we want to be multiple on defense and vary between defensive fronts.”
Hill said the Waynesville summer football schedule will be set over the next couple of weeks.
“We will attend one or two team camps this summer,” he said.
