Alcovy’s cross country and track and field programs are set to begin a new chapter with the hire of Wymon Kelley Jr. as the teams’ new head coach.

The hire was announced during the offseason, and Kelley is ready to get in the building and get to work with the cross country season around the corner.

An opportunity to bring a legacy back to Highway 36 was an appealing one for Kelley.

“I was pleasantly surprised and eager to put my name in the hat,” Kelley said. “Especially knowing that Alcovy has rich talent here along with a short stint of history. It’s a chance for both of us to spread our wings.”

Kelley’s first interaction with the Tigers’ program actually came in his former stint as an assistant coach on Carrollton High School’s football team. In 2021, Alcovy and Carrollton battled in the second round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs.

Outside of the game itself, the way the players carried themselves and the pride for the school was something Kelley saw even then.

“They had a lot of great athletes at the time. They didn’t end up winning the game, but I noticed that they had a lot of great athletes and the kids wore it on their sleeve,"Kelley said. “They played their hearts out. You could tell they were a prideful community in a sense.”

Now that he himself is a Tiger, Kelley confirmed that the things he saw at Sharp Stadium in 2021 still stand.

“Since then, It’s been that plus some,” Kelley said. “Everyone here in the quote-on-quote ‘Cove’ has just welcomed me with open arms. I am eager to get into my expertise and get started with everything.”

Kelley will have his hands full his first season as he is set to lead both the cross country and track and field squads.

In Kelley’s eyes, they correlate in many ways despite being on opposite ends of the school year.

“My vision is to establish a winning culture, of course. I am trying to root it in discipline, community and just relentless determination for my athletes,” Kelley said. “It is much like an ambush of Tigers. Our team will move as one and harness the strength to achieve collective greatness. I want them to embody the spirit of the Tiger and to attack each race and each practice with the same determination as a Tiger would. We’ll do that by fostering an environment of hard work, resilience and mutual respect. We will create a legacy of success and pride for Alcovy High School and the community.”

As a track and field coach, Kelley is well-familiar with the idea of his athletes playing other sports — sometimes even during the same season.

However, this is something that he encourages.

“I absolutely love when my athletes do other sports,” Kelley said. “It allows all of us to test our fortitude to see what all of us are made of in a sense. From an athlete standpoint, when you are doing multiple sports within the same season, that is a lot that is asked out of you. The culture within different coaching staffs really work hard to make sure that specific athlete is always upright and physically and mentally stable to keep performing both on and off the field.

“On the coaching standpoint, we have to over communicate to say, ‘Hey, Sally is coming to practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays’ just to make sure that the athlete doesn’t have to worry about small articulated stuff. Plus, on the third level, when you go off to college and you narrow it in, colleges really like that you can balance that through your high school career.”

With the hire still fresh and with the school year just now ramping up, Kelley’s interactions with the school and team have been minimal.

Kelley has many goals set for the Tigers in year one, but building up the program is always a constant.

“We are going to be focused on winning. Focused on improving yourself on and off the track,” Kelley said. “My No. 1 goal this year is to get more numbers. And with those numbers, manage that and have those kids get good grades and foster the program in that sense.”

With his first year in the gold and black just ahead, Kelley shared what inspired him to be a coach and to be in the halls of Alcovy.

“The No. 1 thing that inspires me to coach is the opportunity that is always in front of me,” Kelley said. “Everyday I wake up and be able to go out and be in front of young children — whether it be elementary school age or high school age — it is a chance for me to give back and push forward. That is the best thing I can do in this life is to leave a legacy of young people being helped and being better off for the help.”