Once a Viking, Always a Viking: McCarthy Back to Lead Whitehall

Whitehall soccer is bringing one of its own back to the sidelines. Dillon McCarthy—a 2008 alum who helped power the Vikings all the way to the state championship game—has returned to take the reins of the program he once starred in. With several years of head coaching experience, most recently at Jenison, McCarthy comes home with a clear first mission: rebuild the program from the ground up.

“It’s awesome to be back,” McCarthy said. “We just had our alumni game and saw over 40 alum ranging from the 1994 to the 2025 graduating class. Our program numbers are much smaller than they were when I was at Whitehall, so our first goal is to help grow the sport and keep numbers up middle-high school. This group may be a smaller senior group, but they have dedicated so much time and energy this offseason—I’m excited to see how we can compete in the conference.”

That challenge is real. With just over 20 players in the program, Whitehall faces a numbers crunch that makes fielding both varsity and JV tough. The Vikings are thin on depth, but McCarthy sees plenty of fight in the roster he’s got.

Backing him are assistant coaches Dan DuBois and Matthew Ferguson—both with deep family connections to Whitehall soccer. Together, the trio carries the influence of former coach Brian Mahan, who helped shape them as players.

The Vikings finished last season at 6-9-1 overall, 6-3-1 in the Western Michigan Conference. With only three seniors on this year’s squad, the program’s clearly in a growth phase. The upside? Every team in high school soccer gets a postseason shot. That means McCarthy and his group can spend the regular season sharpening their edge before October rolls around, where familiar WMC foes like defending district champ Montague await.

For McCarthy, though, the bigger picture is just as important as the scoreboard. He wants to steady the foundation, bring kids back into the program, and set Whitehall up for another deep run down the road.

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