To truly appreciate Erica Still is to see her at work in the classroom. The special education teacher and the girls golf coach at Pierce County High School can routinely be found remediating students before and after school and during planning. All of that takes place before she ever steps onto the golf course. It’s all in a day’s work, according to the enthusiastic, second-year educator.
“The enjoyment I receive when a child ‘gets’ a concept is the most rewarding thing,” she said.
A third-generation teacher with deep roots in Pierce County, Still led the Lady Bears to a runner-up finish at the 2014 region tournament and a tie for 10th at state. Her parents, Greg and Terri, are both retired educators who taught in Patterson, where her grandmother, Ruby, currently lives. Her grandfather, the late “Bud” Still, served as head football coach at Patterson High School.
“Everything that makes me great as a teacher and a coach comes from my parents,” Still said. “Our family has a strong line of teachers and coaches, and I believe that comes from a giving heart. It takes a strong person to become a teacher and a coach, and I gain my strength from the kids.”
She was just weeks old when her dad became head football coach at Bacon County High School and the family moved from Patterson to Alma. After a stint in Metter, the family settled in Ware County, where Erica and sister Alison (Howell) ultimately graduated. But the future golf coach first grabbed a club at age 12 when one of her coaches at Ware Middle, Clemmie Mitchell, started the first girls team there.
“Growing up, I played everything, but as soon as I picked up a club, I decided to specialize in golf when I hit high school,” Still said. “It turned out that golf was just an itch I couldn’t scratch.”
Mitchell’s husband, local golf pro Rod Mitchell, also instructed Still, as did renowned Sea Island pro Gale Peterson. Still competed regularly on the American Junior Golf Association tour, where she caught the eye of college coaches. She also played under her dad and Coach Joe Haluski at Ware County High School, where the team earned three runner-up finishes at state, and she finished as the individual low state medalist as a senior.
“Even though Erica won a state title, she was more disappointed the team didn’t win a state title,” Greg Still said.
“That told me a lot – that she cared more about the team than she did jumping up and down celebrating herself.”
Kentucky got the nod among collegiate offers over the likes of Ole Miss, where her best friend Dori Carter played.
Still subsequently enjoyed a stellar career at UK, setting team records for putting and sand saves. She also played in three Southeastern Conference tournaments before graduating in 2010 with a degree in Agricultural Economics.
“Most people wouldn’t be able to handle going 12 hours away from home, and most thought I would only survive one week,” Still said. “However, it wasn’t about proving others wrong; it was proving to myself that I was as strong emotionally and mentally as I was physically. There’s not a day I regret going to Kentucky.”
Original designs were set on becoming a county extension agent, but the recession curtailed those plans. Still worked as an office clerk at Gibson Animal Clinic in Waycross before getting an assistant golf pro gig in Mississippi.
She eventually returned to Ashburn, Georgia, and worked in banking until May 2013. That’s when a teaching opportunity knocked, and Still answered.
“I always said I would never be a teacher because I saw firsthand what my parents dealt with,” Still said. “Well, never say what you aren’t going to do because God has a funny way of showing what he has in store for you.”
In 2014, the Lady Bears achieved a school first in breaking 300 at the state tourney under the three-player format. Despite having no seniors, confidence has been high again in 2015. The roster features juniors Amber Matthews and Natalee Boatright, along with sophomores Anna Tiller and Terissa Hughes and freshman Kayla Petrowicz.
“We have a young team that has worked hard all year,” Still said. “ In two golf seasons we have become one family. Our team goal this year is to become more confident in ourselves and to go out and just play golf. We have to learn to shut out all the negativity and let in the joy of competition.”
Borrowing from the golfing philosophies of Peterson, Bobby Jones, Dave Pelz, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, and Annika Sorenstam, Still serves as a private instructor in the offseason. She also enjoys tracking Carter, now a touring pro. Still is engaged to Garrett Grady, an assistant football coach at PCHS.
“Erica is an effective teacher in the classroom and an amazing coach on the course,” Grady said. “She cares so much about her students and players, and she knows what it takes to be the best. I am very proud of her.”
PCHS athletic director Sean Pender echoes Grady’s thoughts.
“When hiring teachers and coaches at PCHS we look for certain qualities,” Pender said. “One of those is passion for the job. Another is the ability to get a student-athlete’s potential and turn it into performance. Coach Still practices those qualities daily.”
The Lady Bears had won two matches as of mid-March. Meanwhile, Tiller and Petrowicz also competed at the Red Terror Ryder Cup on Jekyll Island. Several competitions remained before hosting the region tournament, including Still’s favorite: the annual Mattson-Parrish Lady Bear Invitational, named in honor of Mrs. Mary Brantley Mattson and Mrs. Libby Parrish. But Still’s vision for PCHS girls golf includes bringing home a team championship from the state tourney.
“I wake up every day not thinking about going to work but thinking that I have another opportunity to reach out to people and make their lives better,” she said. “That’s what keeps me going.”
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Coach’s Corner/Southeast/March 2015
Erica Still
Pierce County High School
Blackshear, Georgia
Story by John DuPont
Photography by Jennifer Carter Johnson
True Blue
