New Lennard football coach Chattin: “What you see is what you get”

Posted Jan 17, 2012 by Bill Ward

Updated Jan 17, 2012 at 03:04 PM

New Lennard football coach Keith Chattin says if you want to know what kind of person he is, don’t dig too deep or try to decipher anything. When it comes to him, Chattin says in a distinctively Georgian accent “What you see is what you get.”

“If I tell you something, it’s exactly how I feel, I don’t sugarcoat anything, mince words or hide behind anything,” said the 38-year-old Chattin, who was an offensive line coach and running game coordinator for Gainesville Buchholz last fall. “Whatever I’m feeling at that time, that’s what’s going to come out. That’s who I am.”

And with that, the Chattin tenure began Tuesday at Lennard. He replaces George Edington, who resigned from the position in November after four seasons and a 14-25 record. Last season, the Longhorns went 2-8 but played in one of the state’s toughest districts for Class 5A, District 8, which includes traditionaly-strong programs like Jesuit, Robinson and Spoto. Lennard will be in that alignment at least one more year.

Prior to his one season last fall at Buchholz, which went 1-9, Chattin was an assistant at five other Georgia schools, Winder Barrow, Walnut Grove, Worth County, St. Pius X and Fitzgerald, for a total of eight seasons. He has a bachelor’s degree in political science from Troy State and played his prep football at Worth County. He also served in the U.S. Army and saw duty in Egypt and Kuwait.

True to his no-nonsense personality, Chattin says he plans to install an run-oriented offense with an option or wing-T formation. He says his team’s offense will look a lot like Georgia Tech’s, with a bit more emphasis on the pass. He says he wants to get his kids in the weight room as soon as possible, instill discipline and concentrate on the strong points of Lennard’s athletes.

“I don’t need a superstar, I just need 11 kids that want to play football,” Chattin said. “We will put our kids in situations where they can capitalize on their athleticism or just by our angles and what we do. We will succeed because we’ve worked hard and have put in the time.”

Chattin says he plans to come to Lennard on Friday to meet with returning players, as well as assistants from last year’s squad who desire to continue coaching. He said he’s already sent e-mails to current staff and will interview who wishes to stay. But he also has a list of contacts from other schools he is interested in bringing to Lennard if the school’s administrators can find a teaching position for them.

Even that is something of an issue for Chattin because Lennard currently has no positions he is certified for, physical education and special education. But Longhorns principal Craig Hortsman said Tuesday he is working on that issue and hopes to have Ettin on staff before the start of spring drills. Chattin says he plans to be at Lennard and moved to the area by March, joined by his wife, Janet. So far, they don’t have kids but Chattin says they are looking to put down roots in Hillsborough County.

“I’m not here for one season and then go somewhere,” Chattin said. “As long as they will have me, we’ll stay.”