GREENE COUNTY
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Chad Smith/File Photo
Greene County High School principal Eddie Hood and other school board members recently made the decision to hire Chad Smith as the Tigers' new athletic director.
Smith, most recently the athletic director at Central Gwinnett High School, steps into the position with 25 years of experience.
He explained to the Lake Oconee News that he hopes his knowledge can help further Greene County’s athletic progress across all programs.
“I was the assistant head football coach for about 10 years, the head track coach for a couple of seasons, and the head softball coach. I’ve coached golf and volleyball for a travel team, so I have a good bit of experience with a variety of sports,” Smith said. “One of the biggest things I’ve learned from was when I coached softball because when I initially started, they only had six softballs. Through helping build a JV and varsity team and having to basically raise the funds for the team myself, I’ve learned how to run and develop programs.”
Smith comes from Gwinnett County, where he has spent the entirety of his career with the Black Knights.
Most people would think making the transition from Class 7A to Class 1A Division II would be difficult, but not according to Smith.
He admitted that Greene County shares a lot of similarities with some of the biggest schools in the state.
“Honestly, when you break it down, there’s not a lot of difference between a lot of schools. Central did have about 2,000 students, but both there and Greene have about 250 athletes,” Smith said. “Here, a lot more of the players play multiple sports, which have been a big difference for me, but as far as this astronomical difference, there is none. Greene County will be able to produce the same type of results, if not better.”
Smith steps into the role at a great time for Greene County athletics.
Over the past couple of years, the Tigers have seen increased production from almost all of their sports programs with both boys and girls teams.
The football team just had its first winning season in a handful of years, and the girls basketball program finished above .500 for the first time in almost 10 years.
Other sports in the spring like baseball and soccer have also seen an uptick in success, with both programs having won their first game in recent memory this past season. The track-and-field program was able to send 25 athletes to the state meet with multiple top-five finishes.
The culture around Greene County athletics has been changing for the better over the last few years, and Smith just wants to continue on that path. He believes that with the right type of help, each program could excel this upcoming year.
“We’ve got several programs here that are just waiting to explode. Girls basketball and soccer made good runs last year. Football and boys basketball have consistently gotten better also,” Smith said. “Just the sheer number of athletes I’ve seen willing to come out to summer workouts is encouraging, so I’m really excited to get hands-on and see what some of these programs can do.”
To help bolster Greene’s athletic teams, Smith wants to continue to encourage kids to play multiple sports, and administratively, increase funding for the programs that need it for improvement.
Overall, Smith said he feels it’s the coach's jobs to set goals for their specific teams, but he also stressed that the athletic department as a whole will try to meet benchmarks, so the Greene County community can see progress.
“In terms of the athletic department, I want to have good coaching retention. They all need to know I’m there for them and support what they do,” Smith said. “I also want to try and increase the athletic budget for a lot of these teams, so that we can go out and get the equipment and improve the facilities it takes to get better for the community. That’s one thing that drew me to this job was the small town, supportive community, and I want all game day atmospheres to be enjoyable for them.”