This week, we speak with Clinch County football coach Don Tison about spring practice, the dead period, and what reclassification and region realignment means for his team.
Q: Coach, we are talking to you during the first of the two “dead weeks” of the 2022 school year. I know Georgia coaches had been trying to get the second dead week before the GHSA finally approved it a couple of seasons ago. Can you talk about the timing of these two down weeks and what it means to you, your staff, and the players as far as trying to recharge the batteries a little?
A: Coaches across this state are very competitive. Everyone knows if you’re not working, someone else is. The bottom line to success is out-working your opponent. In the past, coaches and players have had to sacrifice so much time away from family, and the second dead week really allows coaches and players an opportunity to enjoy some downtime and recharge.
Q: Of course, the down week comes right on the heels of spring football practice. How was spring practice for you guys? Did you opt to play a scrimmage game with an outside opponent, or did you just do an intrasquad scrimmage?
A: Spring went really well for us. At our school we share a lot of athletes with other sports, so we technically didn’t have spring. We started in February with small groups installing everything we wanted to do for this upcoming season, and I feel like we may have gotten more out of that than the typical spring practice.
Q: Former Clinch County standout Chauncey Manac joined the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in this year’s draft. What does it mean for these players on the team now to see that with hard work, they too could make it to the NFL one day, regardless of how big or small the town or team they play for?
A: We are so proud of Chauncey. Obviously it does a lot for our community by showing the kids that anything is possible no matter where you come from.
Q: Coach Tison, can you talk about the upcoming season and how the realignment this offseason affects your Clinch County Panthers team and the new region heading into the 2022 season?
A: We are really excited about the upcoming season. The players are excited and we have a good group coming back. The realignment helped us and other schools our size. But it’s the way it should’ve been the whole time. Class 1A had schools triple the size of the smaller schools in the same region. Each classification will be more balanced now.
