Clinton Gatewood is thrilled with the opportunity to improve on what Alfred Hall did as Greenwood High School's athletic director.
"My job is to find a way to make things even better," said Gatewood, who replaced Hall earlier this month. "We want to put out competitive teams and expand our athletic program in the next three years to include fastpitch softball, volleyball and soccer and to bring back golf."
Gatewood, a Greenwood native, came to GHS five years ago as a football coach and teacher. He moved out of coaching and into adminstration a year ago to become the school's assistant principal. He got his coaching start with five years of work at Amanda Elzy, where he graduated in 1991 and went on to have a successful football career at Mississippi Valley State.
Gatewood said then-GHS head football coach Sheldon Hodge, his defensive coordinator at Valley, recruited him to come to Greenwood High. And the new Bulldog athletic director considers Hodge, now the head coach at J.F.K. in Mound Bayou, as one of his top mentors.
"He taught me everything there is to know about football, from the game to the business side to dealing with the kids," Gatewood said.
He also considers Hall, former Elzy head coach Henry Fant and former GHS assistant and current Mississippi State assistant Melvin Smith as mentors.
Gatewood is calling on the community to help the school build its athletic program.
"I challenge the community to support these kids, not just in sports but everyday life," he said. "I want to put a lot of emphasis on the middle school level, because that's where your program starts. That's how you build a foundation."
