Greene County High School officially announced its hiring of Derrick Williams to become the Tigers’ new athletic director on social media this past week.
Williams, who was the Lady Tigers’ basketball coach last year, steps into his new role with high aspirations even though he’s always seen himself as a coach first.
“To be honest, I didn’t want the job at first. Not because I didn’t want to be an athletic director, because I’ve enjoyed being an assistant AD, but I wasn’t ready to give up coaching,” Williams said. “It came to fruition when coach Hood came and talked to me one day and said ‘if you’re interested, you don’t have to give up coaching just yet.’”
Eventually, Williams will have to transition over to fulltime athletic director work, but he will still be the Lady Tigers basketball coach for next season.
Pulling double-duty might be tough for some, but Williams’ prior experience has prepared him for the workload. He previously coached basketball at Lincoln County High School and Rock Springs Christian Academy. He was also the athletic director at Nathanael Greene Academy for a year.
Over the years, Williams has picked up valuable learning experiences from mentors like former Mary Persons football coach Steve Chafin and former Greene County athletic director Eddie Hood. Studying under the guidance of these two really helped Williams get to where he’s at today.
For the time he has put in, Williams believes he is ready to make an immediate impact on all of Greene County’s programs through behind-the-scenes work.
“I think a lot of the time, people see athletic directors, and they don’t think about the business side of making budgets and making sure all the coaches have what they need,” Williams said. “A lot of people just think it’s what you see on game nights.” Aside from the business
Aside from the business aspect of the job, Greene County hired Williams with hopes to develop more consistency on the field, and he believes it starts before kids get to high school.
“I’ve told the coaches of the programs I’ve talked to that the biggest thing is we’ve got to develop our feeder systems,” Williams said. “It’s a small town, so we pretty much get who comes through here, because we don’t really get a lot of people moving to Greensboro.”
Not only has Williams been developing relationships with the local recreational sports departments, but he has also been communicating with Greene County coaches to build more of a rapport with fellow staff members.
For smaller Tiger programs like baseball and soccer, communication between Williams and the coaches is essential for expansion of those teams.
In the short time he’s had the job, Williams has helped facilitate equipment and other resources teams might need to be successful.
With summer camps and practice in fullswing already, Williams wants to make sure he’s available to all that need him. With that being said, he also understands the real purpose behind the position.
“People want to see winners, let’s be frank,” Williams said. “I think as long as we’re doing things the right way off the court, in the classroom, academically, and making sure our staff is holding the kids accountable, I think fans will see a good product from all of our sports next year.”