Today’s interviewee is Central Gwinnett coach Larry Harold, whose team is 4-0 in his first season. That Central’s best start since 1984. Harold had been Cedar Shoals’ offensive coordinator when he took the Central job. He has been a head coach at Americus-Sumter, Central in Macon, Brunswick and Macon County.
1. Is this where you expected your team to be at this point of the season, and what’s the most important thing that you and your staff have done to make things better? “I’d be lying if I said I expected us to be 4-0. Central had only won two games in the previous two years, many of the starting players transferred to other schools within the county, and the morale of the staff/players was extremely low. Taking over my fifth program, I usually expect a slow start as both coaches and players take a while to buy into the new demands and culture created by a new head coach. However, at Central Gwinnett, our administration has been very supportive, the teaching staff has gotten behind us, and the coaches and players have done everything that we have asked of them.
“The biggest thing I think our staff has done is let our kids know that despite what the scoreboard says, they are winners in life. I am a big proponent that outside circumstances don’t define you, but your character, discipline and hard work can change your life’s position. Our staff is a collection of great men and role models who pour into our boys and care for them with ‘tough love.’”
2. What is your team doing on the field that’s made a difference? “The key to our 4-0 start has been our defense, led by defensive coordinator and Georgia alumnus Shed Wynn, who has our defense giving up a mere 62 points in four games for a 15.5 point per game avg. Last season’s Black Knight defense gave up 31.1 points per game. We also have an outstanding kicker in Michael Sarmiento, who is averaging 45 yards a punt, has kicked a 37-yard field goal this season and is 8-for-11 in PATs and kicked two kickoffs into the end zone vs. Habersham. Offensively, we are able to control the clock running the football, especially late in games, which helps our defense stay fresh. Also, we’ve scored 94 points already this season (23.5 pts. per game) vs. last season’s team that scored 62 points the entire season. All three facets of the game, defense, special teams and offense, have come together to give us our best start since 1984.” [Harold added, ‘’We are not a very big team physically. However, we are very feisty, play aggressively and try to remain fundamentally sound in every contest.”]
3. What did you see at Central Gwinnett to make you go after the job? “I honestly was not interested in the Central Gwinnett job. I have always been a middle Georgia/south Georgia football coach, and working in the metro area really didn’t appeal to me. I got a call from a fellow coach who asked me if I’d be interested in speaking with A.D. Jason Carrera about the position, and I agreed. After speaking with Jason and our principal, Mr. Shane Orr, it was evident that they had a vision and passion for the football program that matched my own. I was blown away by the facilities that were available at Central, the hunger of the players was evident, and the amount of community support/resources available in Lawrenceville was overwhelming. The Central job definitely wasn’t in my plans, but God obviously saw something for my family and me in Lawrenceville that I could not see with my natural eyes.”
4. You’ve been a head coach for many years at multiple programs. How are you different now than you were years ago, say at Macon County? “The biggest difference between my Macon County days and now is I’m older, don’t have the same energy and require a lot of sleep to get going for the next school day. Seriously, I know who I am and what the Lord called me to do. I know that God created me to use the game of football to change the lives of young men. I don’t let the scoreboard, team records, complaints from parents or any distractions prevent me from focusing on my assignment – improving the lives of young men that I am blessed to coach. I try my best to focus on that. Everything else is secondary. Our family creed of #FaithFamilyFootball has been adopted by the Black Knight football program, and every individual in our program attempts to live by it daily.”
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