Today’s interviewee is Lumpkin County coach Heath Webb, whose team is 4-0 entering a bye week. Lumpkin County is the state’s most improved team from last season so far, according to the Maxwell Ratings and the GHSA Daily Improvement Tracker. Lumpkin County was 2-8 in 2021 and hasn’t won more than four games in a season since 2014. Webb previously has been a head coach at Gainesville, Winder-Barrow and North Paulding.
1. What do you feel that you and your staff have done to put the program in a better place to this point? “Our recipe, which has been a group effort between administration and coaches, has been to hire experienced coaches that are a good fit within the community. I’ve often described it as hiring a bunch of small-town guys to coach a bunch of small-town guys. That personality fit along with quality, experienced coaches has had a big impact on the program. Our motto has been ‘Hard Work Pays Off.’ The players bought into it right away and have done a tremendous job of being coachable on a daily basis. In short, hire the right people and get the players to buy in.”
2. What’s been the response/reception from the team, the school and the parents to being off to a good start? “This community has been hungry for a successful football team. I was lucky enough to be here last semester and watch our girls basketball team win a state championship. The entire town of Dahlonega was in Macon that day. I knew then that if we could give this community something to be proud of that they would support it 100%, and that’s exactly what has happened. This town is on fire for Indians football, and our team appreciates their support.”
3. Your old team, Gainesville, is also off to a great start. How do you look back on your time at Gainesville? “I’m happy to see what’s going on at Gainesville. I knew it would happen in a matter of time. At the end of my first year there [2018], I made a presentation to the community entitled ‘Why not us?’ where I showed pictures of our facilities compared to others around the state with the theory that better facilities would create a better program. We were in desperate need of upgrades. Of course, the powers that be made it happen along with the Hall County ESPLOST voters, but I would like to think that maybe I got the ball rolling with that presentation back in 2018.”
4. What attracted you to the Lumpkin County job? “Dahlonega is my wife’s hometown and has become my adopted hometown. We were here before, and I worked under Tommy Jones. We loved it. The only reason we left was because I was presented an opportunity to become a head coach at North Paulding. We always said we’d end up back here at some point in time. We now have three kids in school and knew this would be a great place for our children to be in school as well as a great place for Jesi and I to work. I also felt we could make it a winner, and with the support of our administration, I feel we’re doing just that.”
Produced by Georgia High School Football Daily, a free e-mail newsletter. To join the mailing list, click here.
About the Author
