John De La Torre jumped right into the fire after graduating from college this past May.

De La Torre was named head soccer coach at McDonald County High School about a month ago, following the sudden resignation of James Carter, who had served as head coach since the program's inception three years ago.

A graduate of Willard High School in 2014, De La Torre will not be much older than his players. He attended Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College in Miami, Okla., for two years before finishing his playing career at Evangel University in Springfield.

"It was a bit of a shock to get a head coaching job right out of college," De La Torre said. "I understand coach Carter left in a bit of a hurry. I got a call from Bo (Bo Bergen, MCHS athletic director) for an interview. I was kind of surprised. I was offered the job about four weeks ago."

De La Torre took little time getting to work, hosting a camp just a couple of weeks after getting hired.

"I got to get to know 10-11 of the guys and meet Tyler (assistant coach Tyler Biddle)," De La Torre said. "It was good to get to know some of the kids and the area and the school. It was a quick turnaround from college."

De La Torre said Bergen put him in contact with Emilee Sumler, assistant volleyball coach, who placed him in a group text with as many of the returning players as possible.

"I am excited to get started," De La Torre said. "It's going to be a great experience with the diversity that we will have on the team. That's going to be quite a difference for me in my first year."

Biddle is a 2010 graduate of Hope High School in Hope, Ark., and a 2014 graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Biddle is also in his first year of coaching after working in the private sector for four years after graduating from college.

"I decided to finally go to work in the field that my degree (education) is in," Biddle said. "I love sports and working with kids."

De La Torre will work as a paraprofessional at MCHS, while Biddle will be a special education teacher at the high school.