Following a year featuring many transitions in its athletic department, the Newton Rams and athletic director Cortez Allen look to continue to build.

Going into the 2023-24 school year, Allen faced the challenge of finding a new coach in three of the school’s major sports.

In football, Josh Skelton took over for Camiel Grant Jr. Barry Browner became the new boys basketball coach following the departure of Charlemagne Gibbons and Delvin Jordan took over for Derwin McNealy as the school’s baseball coach.

With the hires of Skelton, Jordan and Browner, it is safe to say Allen was pleased with the results those teams got.

“Last year was really a transition year,” Allen said. “We had a few new hires in our three major sports — football, basketball and baseball. All three sports did an outstanding job, especially with the coaches taking over and the programs really not missing a beat.

“Baseball returned to the playoffs. Basketball continued its success on the boys side. The girls [basketball team] had a turnaround season. Last year was a year of transitions and I am just really proud of the steps our programs took during that transition.”

The hires of Skelton and Browner were internal, with both coaches already being on the staff prior to their promotions.

Elevating from within was something Allen was prepared to do, and it came from something he learned when he was a coach himself. 

“Being a former coach, one thing I prided myself on was preparing guys to be able to move forward and grow their careers,” Allen said. “I think with our coaches — coach Grant and coach Skelton — being part of the program for a good while, that was an easy transition for us.

“With coach Browner, he did a great job. Just watching him over the last couple years with his knowledge and experience made those hires very easy for us. Watching those guys grow and watching their contributions to their programs made that an easy transition. With the baseball hire, it was almost heaven sent. I think both programs, ourselves and Redan included, [made it] a great exchange for us. It just worked out that way. Coach Jordan has come in and done a tremendous job. Brought some calmness to a program that has some little rumblings going on and he has had a great impact on our staff this year.”

This offseason, the school made more hires of alumni with additions to the football coaching staff.

Skelton announced on X that DJ Hill (defensive coordinator), Victor Pinedo Guerrero (specialist coach), Quentin Dixon (nickel coach), Romario Johnson (quarterback coach) and Robbie Wallace (assistant linebackers coach) would be joining the staff — all of which are Newton alumni.

“It is always good to bring some homegrown talent home, because that passion runs deeper than most,” Allen said.

Another hire that was made over the offseason was the addition of Erica Johnson as the school’s new softball coach.

Johnson previously coached at Heritage High School and took over for Virginia Tucker-Smith.

“Coach Johnson has come in with the rubber meeting the ground and has gotten the girls ready,” Allen said. “She is putting them through a tremendous summer program. They are working hard, the parents are working hard. It is like a new fire, especially for our softball program. That has been exciting to see.”

When it comes to the mission of Newton athletics, the answer was simple for Allen.

“We want to continue to grow great young people. Continue to encourage them to follow their dreams [and] work hard at getting to that ultimate goal of being able to walk across that stage,” Allen said. “One push we have talked about with our administration staff is that we have a 100 percent graduation rate with our student-athletes. That is going to be very important to top those great numbers we have been putting out each year with scholarship opportunities with a big bunch coming from our athletic department.”

With the success of Newton athletics over the past years, Allen wanted to stress to the students heading into high school that the victories will not come easy.

“I just want them to understand that being a Ram is more than what they see in the paper, what they see on signing day, when the kids walk across the stage and what they see on social media,” Allen said. “On the social media side, they always see the endgame, [the] offers, the fun activities and the pictures — I just want the kids to know that it is not easy. It takes a lot of hardwork and if it's in their plan to be a Ram, it comes with a lot of responsibility. It comes with hard work, great work ethic, it comes with discipline and respect.”

As Newton has increased its number of college signings, the philosophy of the coaches has changed, too, according to Allen.

The push to get athletes to the next level is one of the athletic program’s top priorities.

“[For] a lot of our coaches, that is the main objective. I think it is important for high school coaches, and we are starting to see this trend change from years past,” Allen said. “Some coaches didn’t think it was part of their duties and responsibilities as coaches to get these kids ready for college, and I think that thought process has disappeared in high school athletics now.

“For our staff, that is a point of emphasis for us — to give our kids the opportunity to go and be great and do great things beyond high school. As we prepare kids in the classroom for college and career readiness, on the athletic fields we want to prepare our kids to be able to have opportunities to go on paid scholarships. We push the academic piece from day one, they have to be students first.”

In June, Newton had a prime example of what its mission is.

On Wednesday, June 26, former Ram Stephon Castle was selected by the San Antonio Spurs with the fourth pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.

For Allen, it is a testament and a perfect example of what can be done when athletes put their all into their dreams.

“As we saw with Stephon Castle. Those are the things we are pushing our kids [on] with continuing to work hard [and] be dedicated to their crafts so they can ultimately reach their lifelong goals,” Allen said.

Through and through, the goal for Allen in 2024 is to keep giving his athletes one thing — opportunities.

“You’re getting to these second and third generation kids that have seen these opportunities come,” Allen said. “Some had family members who took advantage of these opportunities [and] some did not. I think it is really a point of emphasis to make sure we give these kids an opportunity. Not just put it out in front of them, but [also] teach them how to go about it.”