ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
At this stage in previous football off seasons, Chad Alligood’s schedule would be consumed with looking ahead to summer workouts, scheduling, planning for preseason camp and all that comes with it.
It goes without saying it’s a change of pace for Alligood, whose role has taken him from coaching football for some 28 years to that of athletic director at JCHS, a role he has officially held since January.
It didn’t take long for Alligood’s wife, Talisha, to notice the difference about three or four weeks after Alligood took the helm as the Greyhounds athletic director.
“She said, ‘you’ve probably slept more at night these last three or four weeks than in the past 10 years,” Alligood said. “I think she has enjoyed the less stress.”
And the Alligoods are taking advantage of that eased-back stress away from the sometimes-breakneck speed of coaching football, going on a two-week vacation later this month to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.
Yes, the gear has shifted for Alligood. Rather than being consumed by first downs and touchdowns on Friday nights and all other athletic events involving the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds, his role is more focused on the big picture, ensuring the smooth flow of all things JCHS athletics, most of which happens behind the scenes.
That was evident at last month’s spring football game that was undoubtedly unfamiliar ground for Alligood.
“I had so much idle time. I have never had that kind of idle time. That’s the first game I have been involved in where I was not scouting or coaching and was not 100 percent involved. I was worried about other stuff,” Alligood said. “It was very strange to watch a game, one I was not coaching in or observing from an Xs and Os standpoint. It was just different.”
While Alligood had previously served as an athletic director, he had done so while coaching another sport. That, he says, has made his position with Jones County different.
“I had been an AD before, but it was tied to being a football coach. A lot of the duties I have now, then, other people would do,” Alligood said. “It’s been great, the people of Jones County have been great. We jumped in two-feet first and hit the ground running. Now, we’re just trying to get everyone pulling in the same direction.”
One of those pulls? Working with others at JCHS such as Coach Adam Gillhouse to have athletic results posted on the athletics web site, JonesCountyGreyhounds.com It didn’t take Alligood long to see from within what he says is known from the outside about Jones County – its fan support. That was evident during the basketball postseason with both the Greyhounds and Lady Greyhounds postseason runs, the Greyhounds going on the road all the way to the state semifianls.
“Even before I got here, we used to talk about Jones County. It reminded me of South Carolina. No matter how good or bad the Gamecocks are, the stadium is always full,” Alligood said. “It does not matter what the record is, this community loves the Greyhounds. That’s what was always intriguing to me, that this is a community that loves and supports athletics.”
One thing Alligood did not want to do when he arrived in Gray was to change things for the sake of doing so.
“I think some people were scared I was going to be coming in Jan. 1 to swing a hammer,” Alligood said. “There are some things that work and some that don’t. You just have to see what makes things tick.”
Will a new sport at JCHS be among those things being looked at in the future? New sports approved by the GHSA in recent seasons have been girls flag football, e-sports and bass fishing.
Alligood points to comments to athletic directors from GHSA Executive Director Robin Hines earlier this year.
“He said, ‘guys, just because the GHSA offers it does not mean you have to do it. You have the figure out what works for your school and facility,’” Alligood said. “You have to think about having coaches, where you’re going to practice, what sports that could pull people from are we going to damage other sports by starting another one? There are a lot of talks, but for us, it comes down to what’s good for Jones County and what’s not.”
