COVINGTON, Ga. — When Cortez Allen was growing up in DeKalb County, he saw himself being a football coach and an English teacher. 

That dream played out slightly different with Allen teaching social studies. But his sports aspirations never wavered. 

“[Coaching] was always my goal. I’ve been very fortunate over the years. It’s a special thing that I always wanted to do,” Allen said. “I’ve always been on that trail that I had a vision for growing up. I’ve done those things and I’ve been privileged to work with a lot of great young people.”

Over the course of his career, Allen has accumulated vast experiences coaching. He will now take those experiences into his new role as Newton High School’s athletic director beginning in the 2023-24 school year. 

Before Allen was a coach, he was making noise as a player. 

Allen’s desire for sports career berthed

The sport to initially draw Allen in was baseball. He played tee ball and was on a Little League team, which was Allen’s first exposure to organized sports. 

At the age of six, Allen became interested in football and, three years later, he picked up a basketball for the first time. 

Allen’s sports desire stems from his mom’s side of the family. His mom played basketball and ran track in high school. Additionally, all of his 

mom’s siblings were involved in sports. 

But the interest in sports nearly skipped a generation. Allen’s older brothers and sisters had zero inclination to play sports. So, Allen picked up and carried the mantle. 

“The athletic gene kind of fell on me as the baby,” Allen said. 

Allen had wide-ranging idols growing up, too. 

For football, Allen looked up to Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary who played for the Chicago Bears; Deion Sanders, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, two-time Super Bowl-winning cornerback who also played  baseball for the Atlanta Braves; and Bo Jackson, another multi-sport athlete who played football for the Los Angeles Raiders and baseball for the Kansas City Royals. 

Allen was uniquely connected with his baseball idol — Hank Aaron. Similar to Aaron, a former Atlanta Brave and National Baseball Hall of Famer, Allen’s nickname while playing in Little League was “Hammer.” 

“So, most of the time, I was going to get a home run or I struck out,” Allen said. 

Allen is grateful to have been involved in numerous sports starting in his childhood. 

“It’s just been that way. Every season I had a sport going on. When I got to high school, I had to make a decision about baseball and track,” Allen said. “I said, ‘Well, I’ve been playing baseball all my life.’ One of my coaches told me I needed to get a little faster. So, I decided to run track as a freshman. It helped me out tremendously. At that point, I started to see where my future was going to end up. I continued to play baseball in high school. Football was my No. 1 sport and that was my passion.” 

High school and college highlights

Allen progressed to the high school ranks to compete as a student-athlete at Southwest DeKalb High School in Decatur. He didn’t forsake the various sports that interested him. 

Across his four-year high school career, Allen was an All-State football player and earned All-Region honors in basketball, baseball and track and field. On top of that, Allen was part of a state championship-winning track squad. 

Winning a state title was a feeling like none other. And, throughout his coaching career, Allen has tried to relay that to his players. 

“That’s what I’ve tried to mimic for all of my student-athletes is to give them that championship experience that I experienced going through high school,” Allen said. 

Allen then earned a scholarship to play football at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida. He transferred to Middle Georgia College in Cochran and ended up at the University of Georgia in Athens where he graduated. 

Upon graduation, Allen earned a Bachelor’s degree in social science education paired with a minor in athletic coaching. He later earned a Master’s in sports administration from Central Michigan and an educational specialist in curriculum and instruction from Lincoln Memorial University. 

Allen is not a newcomer to Newton High 

Allen’s coaching origin was at Athens Academy in 1999 where he coached football and basketball for three years. He was then hired as ML King High School’s defensive coordinator. 

Later he was hired at Mundy’s Mill in Clayton County to assume the same post. It was there that Allen’s roots in Newton County were planted. 

Nick Collins — a former head coach of the Rams from 2007-2009 — hired Allen to be Newton’s defensive coordinator. In 2010, Allen was promoted to the helm of the Rams. 

From 2010-2012, Allen led the Rams to a 17-14 record while a member of Region 2-AAAAAA. Newton finished region runners up in 2012 and had a playoff appearance under Allen’s direction. 

Allen was also the head track coach during the entire four years he was previously at Newton High. He coached a few state champions during his tenure, too. 

Donning the blue and white brings about a special feeling for Allen. 

“The first thing that comes to mind is family,” Allen said. “Being back, there were so many good coaches and teachers that I have been able to work with in the past. When you come back and see so many faces that are still here and the amount of kids who have graduated from Newton High School who are now teaching, you just think about family. And the closeness of our programs, coaches and our kids...I think whenever you have those as a combination, it just makes it a really great place.”  

Allen had a plethora of other coaching stops returning as ML King’s head coach and a coaching stint at South Gwinnett. 

In Allen’s opinion, however, Newton High School is a “special place.” 

“It’s a great place to be and I’m proud to be back,” Allen said. “I’m excited about the opportunity that lies ahead. And just thankful for our administrative staff, our superintendent and just what Newton High means to our community.” 

Allen’s vision for Newton athletics

Allen has experienced a little bit of everything throughout all of his athletic experiences. One of his favorite aspects of coaching has to do with players’ progression. 

Watching the growth of student-athletes is special for Allen. 

“Seeing kids improve monthly or weekly in their athletics. Plus, being able to see a culmination of four years of hard work and dedication, and see them walk across the stage or sit down at the table and sign those athletic scholarships...that does it all for me,” Allen said. “Because that to me encompasses everything that we push out when these kids are ninth graders. ‘Hey, if you follow these rules, follow these guidelines, you listen to these coaches, retain the information from your counselors, you can get the prize at the end of the day.”  

Now, he plans to take all of those experiences into his new role as Newton High’s athletic director. 

Allen wants to see the Rams, not only replicate what they have done the last few years, but to take it up a notch. 

“My vision is to do it the One Ram Way. And that is us making sure our kids have the greatest opportunity that we can possibly present to them with the high school athletic team,” Allen said. “Give them a great experience, compete against the best and go out and win against the best and prepare ourselves to not only be NewRock champions, but regional champions and ultimately state champions. With all of our programs, that’s what all of our aims are each year.”