OUR Coaching Staff

Coach Josh Shields teaches math at Grissom High School and has been coaching at Grissom and in the Huntsville community since 2014. Originally from Starkville, Mississippi, he began his soccer journey with the Central Jackson Soccer Organization, playing on the '88 team that won four consecutive state championships. After high school, he attended East Mississippi Community College on a basketball scholarship but returned to soccer, earning All-State honors during his time there. He later transferred to the University of Mobile, leading his team to two conference championships and a Final Four appearance. Coach Shields also played semi-professional soccer for Chattanooga FC and Mississippi Storm. In the off-season, he coaches with United Soccer Club and holds a USSF C Coaching License. Coach Shields and his wife, Kelsie, have two children, Daxton and Rylan.

Coach Josh Lowe began playing soccer at a young age and continued competing throughout his college career. He played for Challenger and Whitesburg Middle School in sixth and seventh grade before moving on to Grissom, where he played two years on JV during his eighth and ninth grade seasons and three years on Varsity from tenth through twelfth grade. After graduating from Grissom, Coach Lowe attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville, where he earned a degree in Kinesiology and played four years of NCAA Division II soccer with the Chargers.

Coach Lowe is excited to return to Grissom and coach under Coach Shields as he continues to grow in his coaching career. He is passionate about developing student-athletes both on and off the field and looks forward to helping players strengthen their skills, confidence, and love for the game.

Coach Toll is a Science teacher at Grissom High School.  He teaches 9th grade Biology and 10th grade Physical Science.  He is originally from Springfield Ohio. Coach Toll started playing soccer when he was 4 years old back in 1988.  He played rec soccer for a few years until he started playing club soccer.  He played 1 year of JV and 3 years varsity at Kenton Ridge High School in Springfield Ohio.  After high school he attended Defiance College where he was a 4 year letter winner and played in every game throughout his college career.  After college he played in various leagues in Columbus Ohio.  In 2009 he joined the United States Navy as a Cryptologic Technician Technical.  He served on board the USS George Washington (CVN-73) an aircraft carrier based out of Yokosuka Japan.  He was part of the "ships team" where the Sailors and Marines would go out into communities and play local teams.  He has played against teams from South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and Thailand.  After leaving the Navy he started his career in education.  He has taught at several schools across North Alabama.  He was the head coach at West Morgan High School for one season.  The last two seasons he was the head coach at Clements High School. He led Clements to their two most successful seasons in their program's history.  Coach Toll lives near Florence and has an 8 year old daughter Lilly. 

Coach Troy Firman was born & raised in Saint Petersburg, FL where he played soccer through high school. After graduating, he worked as the director of the youth sports programs at the local rec center. After moving his family to Huntsville, he began coaching soccer. He has coached for North Alabama Soccer Coalition and has his National E certification and National Goalie 1, 2 and 3 certification. Coach Firman takes great pride in not only teaching the game of soccer but also working with his players. He wants his players to enjoy and learn from the game, to understand the relationship between the game and life after soccer. His coaching motto is: "Always compete and be as competitive as possible.” Coach Firman has been coaching at Grissom since the 2019 season.

Coach Brinkley started playing soccer at the age of five (5). As the son of an army officer, he played all over the United States, as well as Germany. By the time Coach Brinkley reached high school, he shifted into playing football, wrestling, and throwing shot-put and discuss for the track team.

After graduating high school, Coach Brinkley began coaching wrestling and football, first in Virginia and then in Maryland. Coach Brinkley returned to Alabama to complete his degree in Secondary Education.

He and his wife, Trisha, have two boys, Kaleb ('21), Elijah ('25). When his oldest son began playing soccer, he started to coach at the recreational level. Coach Brinkley then transitioned to coaching AYSO and club soccer with River City United and also coached at the middle school level. He holds his F, E, and D License from the United States Soccer Federation. Coach Brinkley started assisting Coach Nacho with the JV Boys team, when his boys started playing for Grissom.