GHSF Daily's Four Questions feature historically poses the same questions to a different Georgia head coach each issue. This season, head coaches are being asked Four Questions tailored to current events. Today's interviewee is Christian Heritage coach Jay Poag, whose team defeated then-No. 3 Mount Zion of the Class A public-school division 30-22 on Friday and improved to 4-0 for the first time since the program's inception in 2010.
Jay Poag, Christian Heritage head coach
1. The victory over Mount Zion was your program's first over a ranked opponent. How does that feel, and what was the significance of it for your team? "It's a very satisfying feeling because it's showing our kids that hard work really does pay off. We've been extremely young the past couple of years, playing predominantly ninth- and 10th-graders. Our players have kept a great perspective on our situation and really bought into our strength and speed program starting last year. They are seeing results from the work that they put into this thing during those offseason months. It's significant for our program because it shows that we're making progress. We want to build a program that can consistently compete for championships, but we want to do it in the right way. We stress to our players that they are not defined by their wins and losses and that there is certainly a much bigger purpose to their lives. We're after their hearts and want to see them develop academically, athletically, socially and spiritually. We're building the next generation of Godly leaders, so we talk a lot about the next 40 years of their lives and not so much about just the next four."
2. When you got the job, Christian Heritage was coming off three consecutive playoff seasons but was graduating several key players, and some other top players transferred. You went 1-9, then 2-8. What was your mindset through that, and did you ever question whether you'd made the right decision to take over? [Poag coached for more than 10 years at the college level and was an assistant on Christian Heritage's staff under his brother, Preston, who left to become head coach at North Murray in 2016.] "It's a really long story, but a really great story. The short version is that a personal life changing 'Godstop' brought my family from North Carolina [where he was an assistant on the staff at Davidson University] back to my hometown of Dalton to start a faith-based sports performance training business for kids. We wanted to make a difference in kids' lives on a daily basis. When the Christian Heritage door opened, we felt like it was one that I was supposed to step through. My wife, Amy, is the college counselor here at CHS and does a fabulous job with what we refer to as our Calling Prep program. Our goal at CHS is to connect every single student with their 'Divine Design' (their God-given skills and abilities) so that they leave CHS with a passion to chase their dreams and point others to the Kingdom target. We started that first football season [in 2016] with 13 very special seniors, my son Brandon being one of them. They chose to stay at CHS when others were leaving, and they really saved football at CHS. Yes, we went 1-9, but it was one of the most enjoyable seasons that I've ever been through. Those kids realized what was at stake and how important their role in this story was going to be. Our team chaplain even published a book called 'Heart of a Lion' centered around the pregame devotions of that first team. This has been a true faith journey from the very beginning. Our 'Godstop' decision to leave North Carolina and move to Georgia was so real that my family has been 'all in' from the start, and when you've been through something like that, there's just a belief and a peace that things are going to work out if you just keep making the next right decision. The attraction of bigger schools or jumping back into the college coaching business hasn't really even been on our radar. This is where we've been led, and we've been put here to make a difference. Big or small doesn't really matter. We can all make a difference in those around us."
3. What allowed you to turn things around so quickly? What changes did you make that have brought you from those growing-pain seasons to now? "I will say that this is not an overnight sensation. Our kids work very hard as do a lot of players in a lot of programs. We started that first year of building a program that would have a firm foundation. We wanted kids and families that actually wanted to be here, and for the right reasons. CHS is a special place, but it's not for everyone. We are built on four pillars that are 1) Academics That Challenge, 2) Athletics That Build, 3) Arts That Inspire, and 4) Active Faith That Endures. We established the #Pride brand that first year to promote both the 'family of Lions' sense of community as well as to cultivate a feeling of being proud of our school, our facilities and our mission. It's really just grown from there. Other families in the area see what we're building and want to be a part of it. Our rosters have grown, which have helped our talent level and our depth. School spirit is at an all-time high. The support from our administration has been phenomenal. I've got a very special coaching staff that has a ton of experience, but more importantly, each of them is totally committed to seeing that our student-athletes become men of character and not just successful football players. When all of that is in alignment, the rest of it all really takes care of itself."
4. You've coached in college. What is it like to be the head coach of a Class A private school? What must a head coach do there that's different than being a coach at a bigger school, or a public school, or even a college coach? "I've found that one of the biggest differences is being totally invested in every moving part of the program. I think it's important to be involved in the lives of all of those younger-aged kids that one day will be playing in 'The Den.' We run a very popular NFL Flag Football league in June for those very young kids that aren't quite ready for tackle football. Our high school coaches are very involved in our middle-school program and in the development of those players. I've been a football coach my entire life at just about every level, and one thing I've learned is that you have to be committed to where you are. If you're always looking to find that next job, then you don't really ever maximize the potential of your situation. We do all the things that other high school coaches do. We have to be counselors, doctors, lawyers, psychiatrists, stand-in dads, teachers and preachers. We wash laundry, vacuum locker rooms, clean up fields and fill up water bottles. It's the best job in the world, and I feel very blessed to be able to get up every morning totally in love with what I'm doing. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that 'We are all God's masterpiece ... put here to do good works ... .' Working with teens in their formative years and building those relationships is both a huge responsibility and a huge opportunity to help shape their lives. That's why we coach!"
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