For the past decade, brothers Josh Stanaland and John Stanaland, two of Jayton’s favorite sons, have coached against each other in 1A sports.
But all that is getting ready to change. Last week John Stanaland signed a contract to join the Jayton coaching staff.
Brother Josh, the Jaybirds’ head football coach, said about his younger sibling, “For years he’s been trying to come home. He’s fourth-generation Jayton, and we had an opening, and he was able to come be a Jaybird again. It’s such good news for him.”
Josh said that specific coaching assignments are still being worked out for John, but that he would be assisting with football, girls basketball and track and possibly more, as details come together.
John graduated from Jayton High School in 2008 and from Hardin-Simmons University in 2013. After graduating from HSU, he coached at Nazareth from 2013 to 2017, then spent a year at Rotan and was at Valley from 2020 to 2024. At Valley, he led the Patriots to a regional football playoff victory over Spur in 2021, advancing three rounds into the playoffs toward the State championship.
Josh, who turns 40 this week, is no stranger to playoffs himself as the Jaybirds routinely advance deeply into the post-season in pursuit of the State title.
John, five years younger than Josh, was briefly coached in high school by his brother before he graduated early in Josh’s tenure.
John and his wife, Shaye, a stayat- home mom, have three children: Daxten, a fourth grader, Dalton, a second grader and Oaklee who is 11 months old.
