Today’s interviewee is first-year Lowndes coach Adam Carter, whose team is 3-0 and facing 4-0 Newton at home Friday night. Carter was Grayson’s coach the previous four seasons and won the Class 7A title in 2020. He’s a Paulding County native but with experience in South Georgia as a former defensive coordinator at Camden County and Valdosta and head coach at Bradwell Institute.
1. What persuaded you to leave one good job for another? What was most attractive about Lowndes? “First, Grayson is an amazing job with even better people. My time there is something I will always cherish. My son was born in that community, and we made lifelong friends there. My goal after leaving South Georgia was to one day come back. My wife and I had many conversations about the Lowndes job. We knew if there was ever an opportunity to raise our son here, I would jump on it. Everyone knows the history of Lowndes football, but for me it was much more. I was looking for a place to raise our son, Steele, and to call home for a long time. This is a retirement job, community, school system, program. Lowndes checks off all the boxes for a football coach – past success, facilities, support and hard-nose football. The most attractive thing about this job is the people. Our administration, board of education and community are all about Lowndes. The motto here is OneLowndes, and each school in our system embraces that.”
2. What has Lowndes done facilities-wise since you were hired, and how important are facilities becoming in Georgia? What’s the future here? “Lowndes’ facilities are second to none. The Concrete Palace is a special place that everyone should experience. A few months after I started here, we were able to get into our new indoor facility. This facility rivals most in the country at any level. Around our campus ,though, you will find a year-old three-story academic building, new tennis courts, turf baseball/soccer fields and a new building almost complete for our band and track programs. Facilities are a huge plus in our profession. In South Georgia, the heat and weather can be tough. This indoor facility allows all of our sports to practice during any season. I think everyone likes new things. I also think the school systems understand that buildings get old and outgrown. That investment into our kids and facilities is unmatched here at Lowndes.”
3. How would you assess your team after three games? “It’s hard to complain when you are 3-0. We are an inexperienced football team, so every game creates new learning experiences for our kids. With a mostly new staff, we are still figuring out our team and what they can do on Friday nights. We have been a bend-but-don’t-break team on defense. We have created 14 turnovers in just three games, so that is a huge positive. Our offense is coming along. We have a few dynamic players over there, and we will continue to grow offensively each week. I will say this about our kids: They have not quit. We have been down at halftime the last two weeks, and our kids have responded well in the second half.”
4. What are some of the changes that you and your staff have made that players are having to adjust to? “I think everything has changed for our kids. We have changed the way we lift, eat, practice, etc. When you have a large staff turnover, things are going to be different. I tell people this all the time, it is not about right or wrong, just about how we do things. We have changed schemes in all three phases of the game. This does take some time. The install of schemes is one thing. The in-game adjustments and how we fix issues is totally different. I think they have enjoyed how we practice. It is continuously moving parts. We do not stay in one spot very long. The tempo in the weight room was a little different for them. Once they figured out the system, it was an easy transition, and now they are starting to see some results in their numbers.”
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