Legendary Georgia HS Track/XC Coaches, Jerry Arnold

Jerry Arnold was a track and cross country coach for 35 years. 13 years at Carrollton High School, 17 at Brookwood High School and 5 at Mill Creek High School, After retiring in 2008, he continued to stay involved in the sport for the next 10 years; serving on the GHSA advisory board and announcing for the Mill Creek home meets. Currently, he's chasing a little white ball down the fairway!

As a freshman I attended West Rome High School where I tried out for football just like all of my friends. I soon found out I was too skinny to play that sport. One of my coaches, Robert Green, asked me to come out for Track and run distance, so that's what I did. I went to state my freshman year and that ignited my passion for running! I moved to East Rome High School for my junior year and competed for John Bray. During my senior year I was 4th in the mile and 1st in the 2 mile. The athlete I beat was coached by Bill Thorn, who would later become a good friend and mentor in my coaching career. That year the state meet was at Tara Stadium where I watched Cairo HS and the great coach, Tommy Taylor, dominate the rest of the competition. They were a complete team; distance, sprints, throws, jumps, and hurdles. This left a lasting impression on me.

I attended West Georgia College in Carrollton and continued running. During my senior year I was coached by Lee Fidler who convinced me that the longer distances were my forte. My best time in the six-mile was good but not great at 30:10. I thought I was pretty good until I arrived at the national meet where I was lapped in the 6 mile by Tomy Fulton. Look him up. He was a great runner back in the day. I was fortunate to work as a graduate assistant to Bill Webb, who later went on to coach several national championship teams at the University of Tennessee. He taught me the intricacies of all of the other track and field events. We spent hours watching film of Olympic athletes competing, and analyzing the points to look for to coach each event. I was humbled and honored to be I was inducted into the State University of West Georgia Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

Numerous outstanding coaches influenced me along the way. I first met Paul Koshewa at a national convention in Albuquerque, New Mexico where we talked about starting a coaching clinic. We came back to Georgia and I helped Paul manage and operate a coaches clinic that was held at Westminster High School for some years. Vernon Wilkes was the first high school head coach for whom I worked. He taught me to be meticulous in preparing for a meet. Watching him get ready for the Carrollton Relays was amazing! This was great preparation because I transitioned into his position when he stepped down. This was back in the day before computers did the work for you. We would list every competitor in the order that coaches sent them and then we put them into heats by hand. Then we had to handwrite the heat sheets on carbon paper so we could give them to the clerks, timers, and everyone else who needed them. Next, we spent hours tilling pits, lining shot-discus areas, and tightening blocks. It was important that when we hosted a meet it was first-class. At away meets, I made it my policy to always tell coaches what a good job they did and how much I appreciated all of their hard work.

In my early years I always tried to analyze and understand why other coaches were so successful. Emory Fears was a successful coach at Headland High School and one of the first people I spoke with about how to train cross country runners. Another great coach was Max Mayo at Cedar Shoals. He and I talked a lot about how to get kids to buy into the cross country sport. Our conversations led me to institute our summer cross country camp trips and ranking system while I was working at Brookwood High School. Joe Carter was another strong influence in my life. At Brookwood, he worked with me as an assistant coach in cross country and we won state and were 2nd the next year. In 1990, Joe became the head cross country coach so I could concentrate more on track. Joe, is still coaching at Brookwood, helping his son and son-in-law who are coaches there. Tomy Sitton was the head girls coach at Brookwood. He and I collaborated about training and meet preparation. He introduced me to Bobby Moeck who was our ultra-successful shot and discus coach for many years. Rik Moore replaced me when I retired from Mill Creek. He was selected because I knew we shared the same goals and aspirations for the program.

Several of my athletes went on to become coaches. Chris Carter at Brookwood and Rodney Born at Loganville come to mind. Perhaps the most notable is Craig Musselwhite (above) who returned to Carrollton to become a successful coach, winning 8 state championships. He is also the state meet director for track and cross country for the State of Georgia.

We won state championships in Track and Field at Carrollton 1980,1981,1982,1983,1986,1987.

State Cross Country championships at Brookwood in 1989,2001,2002,2003.

I was assistant coach to Joe Carter when he won state xc in 1994,1995, 1997, 1998

Carrollton High School Hall of Fame

Golden South Classic Hall of Fame

Georgia Track and Cross Country Coaches Hall of Fame

Gwinnett County Track and Cross Country Hall of Fame  

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Athlete	Event	School
Willie Smith	220 Yard Dash	Carrollton HS
Arthur Boykin	High Jump	Carrollton HS
Jerome Winters	Long Jump 3x	Carrollton HS
Terry J. Phillips	Pole Vault	Carrollton HS
Jerome Winters	220 Yard Dash 2x	Carrollton HS
John Morrow	Pole Vault	Carrollton HS
Relay	440 Yard Relay	Carrollton HS
Relay	Mile Relay	Carrollton HS
Steve Hicks	Triple Jump	Carrollton HS
Craig Musselwhite	High Jump 3x	Carrollton HS
Alex Shell	110 High Hurdles	Carrollton HS
Alex Shell	300 Yard Hurdles	Carrollton HS
Alex Shell	Long Jump	Carrollton HS
Scott Erback	Shot Put	Brookwood
Robbie Moffa	Pole Vault	Brookwood
Jeremy Campbell	3200 Meters	Brookwood
Ian Knight	Pole Vault	Brookwood
Antonio Lamar	Discus	Brookwood
Antonio Lamar	Shot Put	Brookwood
Dan Fassinger	800 Meters	Brookwood
Chase Sasser	Pole Vault	Brookwood
Cameron Cheek	Pole Vault	Mill Creek

I worked at the Olympic stadium in Atlanta setting up the field events each day. This was a special time for me and a lot of coaches from around the country. We were able to watch close up some amazing performances. I had to go off premises to pick up the athletes poles and the truck was accompanied by armed military personnel to get the poles from the warm-up track into the Olympic stadium. To see the amount of security at the facility was amazing.

I still look back on the Georgia Olympics in Jefferson and the accomplishments of Morris Bryan, Jr. When I was running, if you won a medal you went over to the tent told them your name and they gave you the medal. There was no recognition other than hearing your name on the loudspeaker. Jefferson High School and the town of Jefferson still hold a special place in my heart for all the work they put into honoring the athletes. I take out a program occasionally and look at all the history that is Georgia track and field. I still long for the time when you could see the best of the best at one State Meet.

I feel we are going in the right direction with the implementation of Sectionals. This has allowed 4 athletes to come out of each region and for our best athletes to advance. Rule changes that are being implemented are good for the sport. I am looking forward to seeing if the GHSA will go all in to join the National Federation of High Schools in establishing rules that are universal across the NFHS rule book. No more special Georgia rules for participation; four total events, only one relay team per school, and three from each school can enter region in an event. We are slowly coming on board with the rest of the states around us and across the country.

It reminds me of when the Olympic team had to boycott and all those athletes who had qualified did not get a chance to compete and fulfill their dreams, We as a country were asked to sacrifice so our hospitals did not get overwhelmed. I am so sorry that the athletes and coaches did not get to accomplish their dreams

"Love for the sport," and "hard work pays off," are two of the things I tried to instill in each athlete I coached.

Learn from other coaches who are willing to share their experiences. Don't be afraid to coach multiple events - even if they are out of your comfort zone. Thank other coaches for their dedication and hard work. Be sure your athletes are team players.

It has been very fulfilling for me to know that I have spent the majority of my life coaching athletes to be the best they can be. I've had numerous successes and some failures. Throughout it all, my passion for track and field and cross country has grown and will continue to grow as I watch other coaches build traditions of success. My future plans include playing as much golf as possible and spending quality time with my family.