Amanda Yocum has a new team, the same school, and another stop on her softball coaching world tour.

Yocum, who coached the Porters Chapel fast-pitch team this fall, has been hired as the new coach of Vicksburg High’s program. She’ll continue to teach at PCA, however, and may or may not return to that school’s program next fall.

Yocum was hired as a para-professional at VHS and approved by the school board last month.

Vicksburg-Warren Central athletic director Lum Wright Jr. said that as long as Yocum is not at another school that’s a member of the Mississippi High School Activities Association, there is no conflict of interest. PCA is a member of the Mississippi Private Schools Association.

&#8220We haven’t even worried about that. As long as she’s able to be there on time and work with those kids, we’re OK with it,” Wright said.

Yocum was able to make the move since PCA plays its fast-pitch season in the fall and the public schools play in the spring. She talked with PCA headmaster Lynn Baker before applying for the job at Vicksburg and got Baker’s approval.

&#8220I spoke with Lynn Baker before I took the position to make sure there were no conflicts, and she was OK with it,” Yocum said.

Yocum’s status for next fall, when PCA plays fast-pitch and VHS plays slow-pitch, is still uncertain. Schools offer teaching contracts on a year-to-year basis, and contracts for the 2007-08 school year won’t be offered until the spring.

&#8220Right now, the farthest we’ve gone is she’s the fast-pitch coach at Vicksburg High School,” Wright said.

The move to Vicksburg marks Yocum’s third job at a Warren County high school. She served as an assistant at Warren Central from 1999-2003 before stepping down to care for her two young sons, then returned to the coaching ranks at PCA in August.

This job figures to be the most challenging of the three, by far. VHS has not finished with a winning record since going 7-5 in 2000.

While Yocum hasn’t had a chance to see her new players in action yet, she has observed them from afar and wasn’t intimidated by the challenge.

&#8220I feel they’ve got a lot of good athletes and potential. I’m hoping I can teach them some fundamentals and endurance,” Yocum said.