Excellence on the field and in the classroom is at the forefront for the Alcovy Tigers under new athletic director Patrick Carter.

Carter took over as the school’s new athletic director and assistant principal early into the school year, but the plan to sustain a strong athletic program was put in place from the very beginning.

“I layed out my plan in terms of what the expectations and roles are for the athletic director and with also being the assistant principal and it meshed,” Carter said. “Thirteen days in, it is like drinking water from a fire hose as I like to say, but it has been great. It came about at the right time. Being a man of faith, it just spoke to me. I have enjoyed it greatly.”

Throughout the years, Carter has been involved with athletics and academics in many capacities.

In 1996, Carter attended Morehouse on an athletic scholarship for football. Although his playing career may not have ended up the way he intended, Carter spoke and discussed the people he met along the way and the coaches specifically.

“I came here, played for four years at Morehouse. It was up and down — a turbulent time there. But, I was able to learn a lot from all my coaches,” Carter said. “In particular, Anthony Jones, Doug Williams, Todd Bowles who is now the head coach of the Bucs. He was my defensive coordinator. Mike Pitts who played at Alabama and spent some time in the NFL — God rest his soul, he was great. Even Derek Moore, who backed up Barry Sanders, was part of FCA while I was there. He is now the executive director of player and character development at South Carolina.”

After his college graduation, Carter spent time in Tennessee, where he spent time back on the gridiron as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator along with serving as an assistant track coach.

Carter moved back to Georgia after some time and taught in Clayton County at Riverdale High School. In 2007, Carter was hired on at the school je just now returned to — Alcovy.

Following some time as a Tiger, Carter went on to work as Live Oak Elementary (assistant principal), the Board Office as a Secondary Special Education Coordinator and at Livingston Elementary.

A desire to return to teaching at the highschool level sparked Carter’s move back to Alcovy this year.

“I am a highschool person,” Carter said. “Elementary school is great, but this is the crazy part. Most of the students I had at Livingston, guess where they are now — in high school. Now I am seeing them and their faces haven’t changed, they are just taller.”

Even as an athletic director, academics have played just as large a part in Carter’s life as athletics have. According to Carter, it all stemmed from his family’s involvement in academics.

“I didn't know this until I started teaching but I had teachers throughout my whole family,” Carter said. “I had some academic challenges early on in elementary school. I saw the teachers pour into me and spend time tutoring me. While I was in college I started mentoring, going into high schools and working 1-on-1. I started doing observations and just had some great individuals who also mentored me along the way. You sometimes don’t see the benefit immediately of what you are actually doing. But, you look three, four, five years from now and that student sees you [and says], ‘Hey, you were the best teacher and I am now doing this and that and it was all because of you.’ That is why [I do it].”

When the opportunity arose for Carter to return to the high school level and do it with a school he was familiar with, he noted that the fit was too right.

“When I stepped away, I was still always involved with students. I was still tutoring. I was still speaking with students. I was still mentoring [and[ did a little coaching,” Carter said. “I thought it was time for me to get back in and I wanted to get back in the fit that was great for me. So I looked and was like, ‘Alcovy, I started there.’ Then there was the athletic piece, and I didn;t have the experience. But, I have the capacity to learn. I said, ‘I have the experience of my coaching and my playing days and know exactly what kind of product Alcovy and Newton County desires.’ Especially with the new superintendent and what he actually desires for Newton County to be. I knew this would be a great opportunity for me.”

Even though he is not a month into his new role yet, Carter has made an intentional effort to attend and cheer on each of Alcovy’s fall sports, home or away.

With his attention now solely turned to building up Alcovy’s athletics, Carter knows what he wants to do to achieve the goals he has set.

”Coming up with a long term plan that is built with short term goals,” Carter said. “In order for us to achieve this, this is what we need to achieve at this point. I call them key performance indicators. ‘Are we achieving these along the way?’ As we do that, we should be tracking towards our goal. Let's say for example a five year goal — where are we at [on the] 90th day, sixth month, one year — [and asking], ‘Is this still getting us to where we need to go?’” 

According to Carter, it all begins in the classroom.

“You have to have a great foundation built upon academics. Academics first — student-athletes first,” Carter said. “To make sure it's sustained, having a firm foundation built upon excellence. In other words, you have to have guidelines and expectations and set a standard that you actually want your athletes to play to. Also, there is a standard that my coaches have to have. From there, we have those building blocks. Actually having the right variables and the right things in place for our athletes to succeed not only on the field but in the classroom.

“Competition is not just about competing on the field, it is about competing in the classroom. It is about being a leader. It is about building men and women who will give back to Newton County.”