GHSF Daily asked Georgia head coaches to answer these four questions. We'll report from a different head coach each day.
Donald Chumley, Savannah Christian
1. Who is/was the most influential person in your coaching career? "The most influential people in my coaching life were a combination of coach Vince Dooley, who I played for in college [at Georgia] and coach Jim Walsh, who I first coached for at Benedictine Military School. Coach Dooley and coach Walsh shared many of the same attributes that I still use in my coaching philosophy today. They believed that discipline and hard work on the practice field lead to winning on Fridays and Saturdays. They taught me that no one person is more important than the team and that you can only control the things you do, so spend your time with the players wisely. Never let anyone outwork you on the fundamentals. Make habits out of the little things that others are not willing to do. Most importantly, do it your way because ultimately you, the head coach, are responsible for not meeting your team's goals or expectations. Not the parents, not the media and not the players."
2. Who is the best Georgia player you ever faced? "The best player I ever coached against was Nick Marshall from Wilcox County. We played Wilcox in the 2009 state championship game. His ability to prolong the play with his athletic ability at the QB position was like nothing I had ever seen. You combine that with the arm strength and accuracy he had made him by far the toughest player I ever tried to defense. I do not feel as bad now as I did then because they still cannot defend him in college, not even in the SEC."
3. What is the best team you ever faced as a coach? "The best team I ever coached against was the 2009 Lincoln County team. They were the most physical and fundamentally sound team we have ever faced. We won the game making two goal-line stands inside the 5-yard line. We were not better. We just survived to play again. Neither team deserved to lose that game."
4. If you were Gary Phillips, the new head of the GHSA, what would be the first rule that you would try to change? "It is time to bring new blood into the GHSA. There are too many people that have sat in positions of influence and power that are not affiliated with any school in any capacity, thus bringing into question possible personal agendas not necessarily in the best interest of the student-athletes. There needs to be a limit to how long anyone can operate inside of an organization that has so many schools and student-athletes to be considered from a schools logistics standpoint and a personal standpoint. New issues need new people finding the right solutions to these issues."
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