By KEVIN CARLSON
kcarlson@highlandstoday.com

LAKE PLACID –– Less than 24 hours after Hardee High School announced their new football coach, Lake Placid High School principal Ruth Heckman elected to hire Fort Meade assistant coach Tim Grant as the next leader of the Green Dragon football program.

Grant replaces Shaw Maddox, who was ousted in December after three years and a 6-24 record. His proven track record –– Fort Meade won four district titles and advanced to the Class 1A state title game three times, winning it all in 2004, in his four years with the Miners –– helped Grant emerge on top of a list that included some 30 applicants.

“I’m excited. It’s a good move for our family, and I jumped at the chance,” Grant said Friday. “I heard that Lake Placid put it on Fort Meade back in the late ‘90s, so we know they have the kids. It’s a little bit thin right now, but we’ll see if we can fix that.”

Grant, 45, has gathered head coaching experience on the junior varsity level in New York, South Carolina and Florida on his ascension up the ranks. Offensively, he likes to spread the ball around the field and get everybody involved, using a no-huddle approach to speed up the game.
His overall philosophy –– both on the field and off it –– was exactly what Heckman wanted to hear.

“He has an outstanding record, his references were very impressive and his knowledge of football is exceptional,” Heckman said. “The rapport he has with students and parents is wonderful, and those are the kinds of things that we were looking for. He’s positive, encouraging, motivating –– those are the kinds of things that we were looking for and that’s what we saw in him.”

The hiring means no more gridiron coaching vacancies in the Heartland. Heckman had set herself a soft deadline of April 1 to act in order to coordinate spring football and the annual jamboree game in May. Hooking a candidate in time, however, was less important than finding the right person for the job.

Heckman did not have the final say in Maddox’s hire three years ago, and the relationship between the two was strained at best. This time, Heckman took painstaking measures to ensure the correct decision would be made –– employing an interview team to sift through the pile of resumes, meeting the final three face-to-face and checking upward to eight references on each.

The ultimate choice was a collaboration between the principal and a selection committee.

“I couldn’t find a negative comment about him in all the conversations I had with people,” Heckman said. “We want our kids to be involved and we want them to be recognized for their efforts. I want someone who knows the game, encourages more student involvement and will motivate the kids as well as teach them.”