COACH/ATHLETIC DIRECTOR 2005-2019

Del Phillips worked at Apex High School from 2005-2019. Coach Phillips was hired as the baseball coach at Apex High School in 2005 and coached baseball for three years. Out of those three years his teams were conference champions twice and he was recognized as Conference Coach of the Year for two of those years as well. Starting in 2005, Coach Phillips was able to generate over $150,000 worth of improvements to the baseball field and was the force behind dramatic enhancements to the field, the stadium and the lighting structures.

After coaching the baseball team for those three seasons, Coach Phillips transitioned to become the Athletic Director of Apex High School in 2007. During the 2009 year he obtained his qualification as a Certified Athletic Administrator (CAA) and became one of four with that certification in Wake County at that time. 

Coach Phillips created the Apex High/Apex Consolidated Hall of Fame in 2016. Some other notable accomplishments during Coach Phillips’ tenure as the Apex High School Athletic Director include winning the State Wells Fargo Cup in 2014-2015 and winning the conference Wells Fargo Cup 6 out of his 13 years as Athletic director. Furthermore, the historic success of the teams under Coach Phillips’ tenure include 11 state championship teams and over 75 conference championships. 

Coach Phillips’ impact not only included Apex High School, but the entire county as well. He was part of the WCPSS committee to increase wages for coaches, he served as the SWAC Conference President, and he created the Student/Athlete Ethics Contract that has been used at many area schools. A tireless worker, Coach Phillips is best known for being on his tractors and mowers and taking care of the Apex High School’s fields and facilities, and his fields were known to be some of the best, if not the best, in the state. Coach Phillips’ truck was often seen most Saturdays and Sundays at Apex High School while taking care of the fields.

Coach Phillips was instrumental in helping move to the temporary location at Green Level and while at the temporary location, he maintained the fields at both facilities while the facility at Laura Duncan Road was rebuilt. Coach Phillips would be the first to tell you that none of his or the school’s accomplishments could have ever happened without the great coaches, the Cougar Club, or the many parent volunteers who have helped out in some form or fashion. The motto Coach Phillips lives by was shared with him by his father and it goes like this: “No matter what you do, make it your best. It only takes 5 minutes longer to do the job the right way than the wrong way. Always … always spend that 5 minutes in all that you do.”