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Sargents in arms. The Troup High boys soccer team has two Sargents on the sideline barking out orders. The two share the same rank (assistant coach), the same field since childhood and the same last name. Collin and Myles Sargent are Troup Tigers through and through.

The brother duo spent the better part of three years together playing at Troup High and now have the pleasure of joining the coaching ranks as both serve as assistant coaches on the Troup boys soccer team.

“What’s weird is I never thought about coaching when I was younger, I barely ever talked on the field, I was the quiet one off to the side,” Collin said. “I started helping with the girls program back in 2018 and now I’m in my seventh year coaching.”

Myles quickly followed in his brother’s footsteps.

“For the first few years, I would just come over and help during practice, but eventually I decided to actually join the coaching staff.”

The two share a love for the school that molded them into men as well as the game of soccer. The two found the game at a young age and fell in love with the sport.

“We tried just about every sport in our small town as kids, but then we moved here and soccer is bigger here than where we come from,” Collin said. “We both started playing it and fell in love with the sport.”

Their two soccer journeys diverged early on. The two played different positions with different attributes and naturally grew to see the game differently as well. Instead of this leading to a clash of personalities, it has actually led to the two balancing out each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

“Basically the stuff I’m good at is what he’s weaker at, and the stuff he’s better at is what I’m weaker at, so if you combined us we’d be a very good player,” Collin said. “We just compliment each other perfectly with our weaknesses and strengths and it just works perfectly when we played together and now when we coach together.”

Collin came on board as a coach six years ago on a whim. His uncertainty quickly transformed into a sense of found purpose.

“At first I didn’t think I could do it, but now I like coaching even more than I like playing,” he said.

Collin has been an essential part of Troup’s recent success and eventually, he brought his younger brother Myles on board.

“The energy you have as a coach versus as a player is so different,” Myles said. “You have to motivate and engage the players on the field and can’t let your emotions come into play.”

The two are not Troup County natives, but this is home for them. After transferring to the area as kids, they quickly found a place they could easily call home. Their path to Troup High was set in stone as their mother took a job at the school.

Janie Sargent was one of the key figures in their return to coach at Troup High. They saw the love she poured into the school and students and decided to uphold her legacy. Sadly, their mother passed away at the end of 2023, but her passion and enthusiasm for young Troup Tiger students now lives on through her two sons.

“Mom, before she passed away, was the big sports person in our family and our dad just never was a big sports guy,” Collin said. “She loved being here at Troup High and so do we.”

With the loss of their late mother, the bond between the brothers has only strengthened. The two are practically inseparable now, but this was not always the case.

Back when it was them suiting up in blue and gold, they butted heads on more than a couple of occasions.

“It only happened a few times in those big competitive games and I can remember during (Collin’s) senior year we butted heads during the playoff game,” Myles said as the two shared a chuckle reminiscing. 

Since their playing days, the two have had wildly different soccer journeys despite both coaching at Troup High. Collin is a member of the Point University men’s team while Myles played for LaGrange College’s team and is currently a player for semi-pro team Legends FC. Regardless of where their respective journeys have taken them, the two are rarely far from a soccer pitch.

While there have already been two generations of Sargents making an impact at Troup High, a third might not be too far in the future. Myles recently welcomed his first child into the world.

Collin eventually envisions himself leading his own soccer program, having fallen in love with coaching more than even playing. Myles remains uncertain about his coaching future once his time in college winds down but plans to remain involved with his beloved sport in some form or fashion.

Where each of their soccer journeys takes them over the next few years is unknown, but no matter where it takes them, the Sargents will always be Troup Tigers.