After becoming the school’s athletic director after the start of last school year, Dr. Patrick Carter has hit the ground running this summer as he looks to put Alcovy athletics in a spot to succeed in 2025-26.
Carter’s beginning at Alcovy was what he himself would consider unconventional as he took over the athletic director/assistant principal position in September of last year.
“[It was like] drinking water through a fire hydrant," Carter joked. “But it’s been great. I am still learning. It’s a process. I have great support with our county athletic director Carl Green. Also our new principal Michael Chapple and even Dr. [Shannon] Buff. They have all been great supporting me and even the other AD’s from other schools. Even though we play each other, we are still a county. They have helped me acquire knowledge a lot quicker and apply it to make sure we are moving this program in the right direction.”
As for the goals from year one to year two, Carter is looking to see many of his programs take the next step.
Whether it is changing the logos or adding new coaches to the staff, Carter feels the school is in a spot to head on an upward trajectory.
“My goals after year one is that now that we steadied the ship, [let’s] sail it in the right direction,” Carter said. “Putting certain processes, procedures and strategies in place for our coaches to succeed, for our student-athletes to succeed, and also for our teachers to succeed. Not only am I the athletic director but I am also the assistant principal so I am involved with the curriculum and instruction. I am wearing two hats, but it’s putting those certain things in place so we can not only educate and prepare the total child for their future, but also that the adults in the building have the necessary tools so they can be the best they can be so they can impact change in a positive way for our student athletes.”
For multiple sports at Alcovy, there are coaches who are in their first or second years.
This past season, the school ushered in a slew of new coaches such as Wymon Kelley Jr.(track and field/cross country), Brandon Thomas(baseball), Emmanuel Williams(wrestling).
For this new school year, Carter introduced new head boys basketball coach Darrell Johnson, who is set to take over a Tigers team that finished 17-9 last season and just shy of a playoff berth.
Carter noted that Johnson has already had an impact on a program that has stayed busy throughout the summer.
“It has been a lot of excitement,” Carter said. “He has brought in a breath of fresh air. Just a different ideology to coaching. He is more of a players coach and he relates to the players and it's more about teaching the fundamentals and getting the best out of them in a positive way while still having a standard of greatness.
“Along with coach Willis who stayed on staff. They have coached together through the summer and they work well together. We also brought in Roger Whitehouse, who is a highly recommended assistant coach from south Georgia. He is on board and he is also [assisting in] coaching football and coaching baseball for me as well.”
Perhaps the newest part of Alcovy’s athletic program resides in the school’s first ever flag football team, which is set to take the field this October.
Current boys and girls soccer coach Toby Davis was tabbed as the coach of the team after he just wrapped up a long and successful tenure as the coach of Liberty Middle School’s football team.
For Carter, the decision to go with Davis was an easy one.
“It was an easy choice and decision,” Carter said. “We have scheduled close to 15 to 20 games already. We are excited. Shoutout to the Arthur Blank Foundation for the $10,000 grant. That has helped us out tremendously. We have a large interest and we are only going to varsity this year. For year two I am going to have to open it up to freshman and junior varsity.”
Another team that saw changes this summer for Alcovy was its softball team.
Former head coach Miranda Lamb stepped down from the program after a successful tenure with the team that featured a pair of seasons in which they won their region.
After a 8-18 finish a year ago, Carter will turn over the program to Marcus Smith and Toby Davis.
Smith was already an assistant on staff and will work alongside Davis as they look to get the Lady Tigers back to Columbus.
“I am glad he[Smith] is staying along to coach, and I think his granddaughter will also be around to help coach — Ty Hardeman. She is going to help coach when she gets done with everything through GHSA. She plays softball at Kennesaw State. We have the pieces in place to be successful, it is just the buy in and the belief.”
Although the finished product is still a year away, one project that looms in the background of the campus is the school’s first ever stadium, which is set to be ready by the start of the 2026-27 school year.
While the football stadium is the main attraction, Carter noted how Alcovy also received a few more upgrades to its complexes.
“[We] have been managing the construction project — I’m not sure people know we are getting our own stadium. Ours is a little more intricate,” Carter said. “We had to do some additional things — we had to make a lot of concessions and things to ensure that our fields are ready. The good thing about it is that our softball and baseball fields got brand new dugouts, so it’s been a great addition.”
While having the facilities is great in itself, Carter noted that it allows the school to have extra pride in the field they now have to represent.
“It’s great for the student-body, which is great overall for our competition,” Carter said. “We will have our own facilities, state-of-the-art updated facilities which our students can call their own. In other words, we have a house to defend now.”
As both the athletic director and assistant principal, Carter has his hands in helping the students who may not continue their athletic careers at the next level.
After a year in which the school had a record-number of signings, Carter emphasized the importance of doing the most for students, whether they are going to the next level or not.
“Some of our student athletes may not make it to the next level, they may not go play college football, but the ones that want and can do, that’s great. They sign, that means they have done everything they need to do to get to the next level,” Carter said. “But the key things I always harp on and let my coaches know is, ‘Hey, what about the ones that have been out here three to four years, have given you time and given you sweat and sweat equity. They have done everything you asked and when it comes time to graduate, what do we offer them? We need to do the same thing to help them. If they aren't signing to play somewhere, are we still helping them with getting to where they need to go?’”
As he now prepares to enter year two, Carter laid out his simple, but necessary goals for Alcovy athletics in 2025-26.
“Compete, we are just going to compete. We are going to fight,” Carter said. “The standard is the standard, we are going to compete and fight. What I mean by ‘the standard is the standard’ is excellence. In other words, in everything we do we do it with excellence."
