Pellissippi State Community College has selected Charles Van Horn to lead the men’s golf team as its new head coach.

Van Horn joins Panther Athletics from Newberry College in South Carolina, where he led the women’s golf team to three top-five finishes and won the Pfieffer Invitational.

“Charles brings invaluable experience to Pellissippi State, and a wealth of potential for the men’s golf team,” said Panther Athletics Director Brock Evans. “I’m excited to see what he accomplishes in this new role.”

Prior to coaching, Van Horn took on golf as a hobby during his decades-long career as a firefighter and paramedic in Illinois.

He has since coached golfers for nearly 30 years, leading the men’s golf team at Georgia Military College to an NJCAA Division III National Championship, and also guiding teams at Judson University, Oakton College, Waubonsee Community College and Aurora Central Catholic High School.

“My coaching experience, I think, will help these kids out tremendously,” Van Horn said. “One thing I bring to the table is – I never quit. I’m always doing something, I’m always active.”

With a degree in engineering, Van Horn said, he has always been invested in the mechanical aspects of golf and even has an at-home club repair shop. He has already been able to identify team members at Pellissippi State who were swinging drivers that didn’t fit them, and repaired them accordingly.

That’s led to a significant improvement, he said. “I’m here to win another title,” Van Horn said. “I’m here to develop a team that’s one of the better teams in the country.”

He looks forward to recruiting all-star players to the Pellissippi State men’s golf team. “A coach is just part of a good team,” Van Horn said. “I’m there with them night and day, but they have got to put the hard work in. I hope whoever we recruit can look at our program and see that it’s really dedicated to the students.”

Pellissippi State Community College is a public community college based in Knox and Blount counties in Tennessee and operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents. The college operates four campuses: Hardin Valley, Blount County, Strawberry Plains, and Magnolia Avenue.

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